Nikkhil Advani sets 'Freedom at Midnight' series at SonyLIV

Mumbai: Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani will be serving as the producer and showrunner of SonyLIV's upcoming political thriller drama series "Freedom at Midnight", the makers announced on Thursday.

StudioNext and Advani's Emmay Entertainment have come together to co-produce the series, which aims to bring alive defining moments from India's partition.

"Freedom at Midnight" is based on a book of the same name by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins.

Advani is attached as the showrunner on the series. Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng Das and Gundeep Kaur have penned the story.

According to the makers, "Freedom at Midnight" is an epic political thriller drama that highlights "several incidents from the year of India’s independence and interconnected stories about crucial events and personalities who played a significant role in writing the country’s history as we know today".

Advani said the series is a riveting and emotional tale of an incident that "altered the course of the nation".

"‘Freedom at Midnight’ is an attempt to bring to Indians the whole truth about the events that led us to our freedom - the courage, and the hope instilled in people by the personages who gave us the new India. This is a story every Indian should know, and I feel honoured to be able to tell it along with my partners, Monisha and Madhu, and the team of writers, along with StudioNext.

"It is even more special for Emmay Entertainment that we get to bring this story to SonyLIV after our successful stint with 'Rocket Boys'. The platform has been at the forefront of narrating the stories of the homeland, and I look forward to associating with them on this project too," the filmmaker said in a statement.

Danish Khan, Head - Sony LIV, Sony Entertainment Television & StudioNext, said the team's aim is to bring to light untold stories from contemporary history and "Freedom at Midnight" is an attempt towards that direction.

"From 1947 to present day, India experienced many watershed moments that are significant in shaping our futures. One such story of the country's struggle for independence is 'Freedom at Midnight.' We are delighted that StudioNext and Emmay Entertainment are collaborating on this intriguing series, cannot wait to get started on this one with Nikhil and his talented team," the statement read.

Advani was previously attached as a creator and producer on SonyLIV's "Rocket Boys", which followed the life and efforts of Indian nuclear physicists Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai between 1940 and 1960.