Film Announcement: Mahesh Narayanan of Malik fame to direct his Hindi debut titled ‘Phantom Hospital’.
Mumbai, August 31
Priti Shahani, the acclaimed Bollywood producer behind pathbreaking movies such as Talvar, Raazi and Badhaai Ho has announced a genre-bending new feature film in collaboration with Josy Joseph, the award-winning inv estigative journalist and author. Based on an unprecedented investigation into the Indian healthcare system, Phantom Hospital will mark ace filmmaker Mahesh Narayan’s entry into the Hindi film industry.
The unusual dramatic thriller also marks the entry of Priti Shahani’s new production house ‘Tusk Tale Films’ in the market. Announcing the project, Priti said her new content house believes in harnessing the power of great stories, especially those rooted in reality and rigorous investigation. Phantom Hospital results from one such creative partnership between Tusk Tale Films and Josy Joseph’s company Confluence Media.
An unusual scandal in the healthcare sector has inspired Phantom Hospital. “All of us have been victims of it unknowingly, and through this film we hope to wake up the audience to a new reality.” Priti said.
Priti Shahani, Founder and CEO of Tusk Tale Films said about her new content house and collaborating with Mahesh Narayanan and Josy Joseph: “At Tusk Tale Films, it is our endeavour to champion stories that are refl ective of our times that are rich with emotions and have the ability to resonate with all. I am excited to partner with Mahesh Narayanan, whose stories have travelled to a nationwide audience and is truly a visionary films maker and India’s finest Investigative journalist Josy Joseph. Together we aim to make an entertaining film that uncovers one of the most shocking scandals in our country.”
Josy Joseph, Founder of Confluence Media, said: “The strange thing about India is that its real stories are far more dramatic than any that a writer can imagine up, but those have not been harnessed enough for visual storytelling. I am confident that Phantom Hospital will be a pathbreaking movie that will showcase Mahesh’s mastery over the craft and Priti’s capability to see through challenging projects. “
On his Hindi Film debut, Mahesh Narayanan said: “I was instantly drawn to the story inspired from true incid ents in the Healthcare sector of India. It gives me immense pleasure to associate with Priti Shahani, who as a producer, has consistently delivered quality content, and Josy Joseph, whose meticulous research has added great layers to the story. My films have received so much love from the Hindi audiences that I am truly looking forward to directing my first Hindi Feature.”
The Story and screenplay of Phantom Hospital is written by Akash Mohimen and Mahesh Narayanan.
About Mahesh Narayanan
With his latest film Malik, Mahesh Narayanan has become one of India’s most prolific modern filmmakers. With a nuanced eye for conflicts, characters and emotions, Mahesh’s films have provided unique perspectives on co ntemporary events through characters caught in their fulcrum, as their lives are sucked into cataclysmic events and emotions. His first directorial, Take-Off, is a story on the lives of Indian nurses stranded during the Iraq Inv asion of 2014. The film gave him global recognition and won multiple awards at National and International fe st ivals. His second film ‘C U SOON’, an Amazon Original, has received much praise for its unique storytelling and craft. Mahesh has been part of over 50 films as a screenwriter, cinematographer, editor and director across dif ferent languages and is committed to stories of Social Relevance.
About Priti Shahani and Tusk Tale Films
One of India’s most successful film producers, Priti Shahani, founded Tusk Tales Films as a premium Indian conte nt company. She is committed to the growth of India’s mainstream entertainment industry and showcasing it gl obally. In 2014, she set up Junglee Pictures as a division of the Times of India group, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment groups. At Junglee, she delivered critically acclaimed & commercially successful films such as Badhaai Ho, Raazi, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Talvar & Junglee.
About Josy Joseph and Confluence Media
Josy Joseph is the only Indian to have won the country’s top journalism and non-fiction writing awards. His late st book, The Silent Coup, released last week, is setting publishing records by going into a reprint within a week of release. His first book, A Feast of Vultures, won the 2017 Crossword Book Award. In addition, Josy has been sel ected India’s best journalist by the Prem Bhatia Trust in 2010 and the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, run by the Indian Express group in 2013. He founded Confluence Media in 2019.
