Lara Dutta, Prateik Babbar to star in Hindi adaptation of Hulu series Casual for Lionsgate Play's first Indian Original

The global streaming platform STARZ, which launched its Lionsgate Play direct-to-consumer OTT app in India last year, is partnering with Lionsgate Television (LGTV) on its first Indian original series, a remake of LGTV’s critically-acclaimed, Golden Globe-nominated hit series Casual.

The series will be directed by Kunal Kohli, best known for Bollywood films such as Hum Tum and Fanaa, and will star Lara Dutta (Housefull, Don 2) and Prateik Babbar (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na).

The original series, which ran on Hulu from 2015-18,  followed a dysfunctional family with a bachelor brother (Tommy Dewey) and his newly divorced sister (Michaela Watkins). Together, they coach each other through the crazy world of dating while living under one roof again and raising a teenager (Tara Lynne Barr), writes Deadline.

“Lionsgate Play continues to gain momentum in India, proving to be a strong driver of Starz’s international growth,” said Starz President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch. “Partnering with Lionsgate Television to kick off our first original series tailored for the Indian and South Asian market is the next step in curating our offering for our subscriber base who resonates with our bold, unique and defining series that make up our ‘Best of Global SVOD’ content strategy.”

“Lionsgate is committed to bring the best and most exciting premium content to India and other South Asian countries,” said Rohit Jain, Managing Director South Asia and Networks - Emerging Markets Asia. “We’re excited to launch our first line-up of original series with a great slate of accomplished writers, directors and actors as we continue to broaden and diversify our strong and exceptionally well-curated content offering.”