Charithra Chandran is not in Season 3 of “Bridgerton,” the British star has confirmed, but she has a range of other projects coming up.
Chandran, who is of Indian heritage, will produce a reality TV series based on ancient Sanskrit-language text the “Kama Sutra.” While the text was primarily designed as an art of living guide, many of the film and TV interpretations of it have focused on its sexual aspects.
“I’m working on a reality TV show, which is inspired by the ‘Kama Sutra,’ [for] which I would be just behind the scenes. I would just be producing obviously, not on the show,” Chandran told Variety. “The ‘Kama Sutra’ is actually an ancient Hindu text, but in the West it has this not-so-pleasant, or positive, reputation and connotation. And it’s about taking ownership back of things that belong to us and our culture, and actually showing the beauty and the importance of these texts and what modern society can learn from it.”
The show is in the early stages of development.
Other projects that Chandran is producing include a TV adaptation of Shankari Chandran’s bestselling novel “Song of the Sun God,” following three generations of a close-knit Sri Lankan family, whose story is inextricably entangled in their country’s three-decade-long civil war. The script is by Olivia Hetreed (“Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “Wuthering Heights”).
“We’re still in development. It’s really, really exciting. I have to say, I think it’s the best script I’ve ever read. It’s sensational. I can’t wait for us to get going on making it and for the world to see it. It’s something that is so important. And I feel the responsibility to make it 100% right. And the team that I’m working with on this are just so brilliant and so committed, I feel really lucky,” Chandran said about the project.
Chandran — who shot to global prominence with Season 2 of the Netflix smash “Bridgerton” playing Edwina Sharma, and was one of the leads in “Alex Rider” — is also starring in and serving as a producer on “Arzu,” a drama series based on the sexy novel of the same name by Mumbai-based Riva Razdan.
“‘Arzu’ is a show about a Mumbai socialite who travels to New York, and it follows her life in New York. And I think that is just such a fun project,” Chandran said. “And it’s really about a culture clash, but in a way that isn’t stereotypical. The show will be like a really beautiful representation of what it’s like to be an Indian born in India and [who] grew up in India, in America trying to acclimatize.”
Chandran also stars in upcoming web series “Pillow Talk.” She leads the Prime Video rom-com “How to Date Billy Walsh,” from “Bridgerton” and “Riverdale” director Alex Pillai, which is due April 5. “It’s such an adorable rom-com, and is an homage to films like ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Sixteen Candles.’ And it is just so sweet,” Chandran said. “When I was younger, family movies were so popular — films that parents and children could both sit down and watch. And I think the last few years we slightly lost that, and I really think ‘How to Date Billy Walsh’ is such a family film.”
Immediately up next for Chandran is her debut on London’s West End in the one-woman show “Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon,” written by Rosie Day and directed by Georgie Staight. Chandran plays a a funny teenage misfit who begrudgingly joins a flailing scout group to help her navigate adolescence with varying degrees of success. “It’s truly a pinch-me, bucket-list moment, performing on the West End. Slightly nerve-wracking that it’s a one-woman show, but I feel so creatively challenged and pushed. And this is what any performer dreams of really — that creative challenge.”
“Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon” is on at London’s Garrick Theatre every Sunday from March 17 to April 28.
