Chandran will also be Associate Producer on the TV adaptation currently in development with Cineflix Rights
29 September 2022 — Leading British actress Charithra Chandran, best known for her roles in Netflix’s Bridgerton and Amazon Prime’s Alex Rider, has boarded Song of the Sun God, Synchronicity Films’ and Photoplay Films’ 6 x 60’ adaptation of Shankari Chandran’s best-selling debut novel, which will be released in paperback in Australia and New Zealand this November and in the UK in 2023.
Charithra Chandran will take on the lead role of Leela and will also act as Associate Producer on the upcoming adaptation, currently in development with Cineflix Rights which has joined the project as a creative and financing partner, with first option on exclusive worldwide distribution.
Song of the Sun God is being adapted for television by multi award-winning screenwriter Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring, Wuthering Heights) working closely with author Shankari Chandran, who is Creative Consultant on the project. The Executive Producers are Claire Mundell for Synchronicity Films and Karen Radzyner for PhotoplayFilms.
Song of the Sun God is a contemporary emotional thriller that explores the loves, lies, and misdemeanours spanning three generations of a close-knit Sri Lankan family, whose story is inextricably entangled in their country’s three-decade-long civil war. Taking place in the UK, Australia, and Sri Lanka, the series unfolds from the perspective of Leela, a young Australian woman living her life in London, largely disconnected from her own culture and unaware of long-held family secrets. An intensely personal and dangerous journey takes her across three continents to find her lost aunt and uncover the shocking reason for her disappearance.
Set against the present day fallout of 70 years of political turmoil and bloody conflict between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities along with the legacy of the island’s British colonial history, Song of the Sun God is ultimately about the wisdom, mistakes, and sacrifices of our past that enable us to live more freely in the future. The deeply moving saga is about finding home and forgiving family.
Claire Mundell, Managing Director and Creative Director of Synchronicity Films, said: “At Synchronicity we have a drive and passion for adapting powerful and important books for the screen. Song of the Sun God is one such book. Shankari Chandran’s novel is a poignant, and deeply moving story of the Sri Lankan conflict seen through the prism of one family. With its timely and universal themes, we feel the project will resonate with global audiences. We are excited that Charithra is both joining the cast and the producing team.”
Karen Radzyner, Executive Producer and Head of Development at Photoplay Films, added: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with such a dynamic team of talented women to bring this female-led story of a little known war to life – Shankari is an incredible novelist and Olivia’s screenwriting compellingly captures the emotion and jeopardy for Shankari’s three generations of women. With Charithra now set to play our lead on screen and join myself and Claire on the production, we couldn’t be galvanised. There has never been a better time to tell this powerful story. We can’t wait to bring it to the screen.”
Charithra Chandran is repped by Jonathan Arun Group in the UK and Gersh in the U.S.
