A Hindi remake of Thai heist thriller Bad Genius (2017) that will be directed by Neeraj Pandey is in the works from Plan C Studios, the joint venture between Reliance Entertainment and Pandey’s Friday Filmworks.
Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, the Thai film is about a brilliant high-school student whose scheme to cheat in exams escalates into an international racket. Inspired by news reports of students cheating the SAT, the film also examines themes of class inequality while transplanting the heist film structure into a school setting, according to the official synopsis.
Bad Genius won in 12 categories at the 27th Suphannahong National Film Awards, and also won the Jury Award at the 16th New York Asian Film Festival. With a worldwide collection of more than $42 million, Bad Genius is the most internationally successful Thai film ever.
“We keep looking for exciting stories and content all the time and Bad Genius is an amazing film,” Pandey said in a press release. “We are looking forward to the re-imagination of the film as per Indian sensibilities and hope our audiences like it.”
Azure Entertainment CEO Sunir Kheterpal said that Bad Genius is “one of the hottest remake properties” worldwide. “We thank GDH 559 [the film’s distributors] for entrusting us with this title for the Indian remake,” he said. “It is a moment of pride for us to be partnering with Neeraj Pandey and Reliance Entertainment on the Hindi adaptation for this title.”
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