'Life Of Pi's Suraj Sharma To Star In Family Drama 'Gulmohar'

Jeff Riedell/Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) has signed on to star alongside Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee and Kaveri Seth in the film Gulmohar for Chalkboard Entertainment, Autonomous Works and Fox Star Studios, which is currently in production in New Delhi.

Rahul Chittella’s feature directorial debut tracks the final four days, leading up to Holi, of the Batra family as they pack their belongings to move out of their 31-year-old family home. Amid the chaos of packing up the house, the film interweaves individual storylines of various members of this house, who are recognizable characters to most of us, and portrays their interpersonal relationships, as we unfold secrets of the past, tensions of the present and uncertainties of the future.

Sharma will play Aditya, the eldest child in the younger generation of this family, who is an independent, self-aware, slightly vulnerable but extremely ambitious character, and is currently at the crossroads of an important phase in his career and life, where he needs to choose and decide the way forward for himself. Aditya shares a close bond with his biggest confidante and wife, Divya (Seth), and has a quiet but admirable relationship with his father, Arun (Bajpayee)—much like what every son and father share between them. Through our story, we see how Aditya comes of age, overcoming his reluctance and fears and defining respect and acceptance for oneself and others in this home.

Chalkboard’s Vikesh Bhutani is producing alongside Shujaat Saudagar and Chittella, with Chalkboard’s Ankita Batra exec producing, and Chalkboard’s Gitika Aggarwal serving as co-producer. Siddhartha Khosla, the Emmy-nominated composer behind This Is Us and Only Murders in the Building, is providing the film’s original score.

Sharma is an NAACP Image Award nominee best known for his breakthrough turn as Pi Patel in Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning film Life of Pi, based on the novel by Yann Martel. He can currently be seen in the Hulu series How I Met Your Father and has also appeared in the series God Friended Me, Little America and Homeland, along with films including Happy Death Day 2U and Million Dollar Arm.

Sharma is represented by CAA, Echo Lake Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.