Aditi Rao Hydari, an Indian actress, will play the title role in “Lioness,” an official Indo-UK co-production developed in accordance with the bilateral agreement from 2008. The idea was unveiled at the Cannes India Pavilion, which is run by FICCI under the direction of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
According to media reports, Paige Sandhu, a British actress, will co-star with Hydari in the film. It was influenced by Peter Bance’s historical studies, in which he learned about the life of British Indian royal Sophia Duleep, who is credited with inspiring the suffragette movement in the UK.
Famous director Kajri Babbar is helming the movie, which tells the story of two British Punjabi women who lived in the UK one hundred years apart. According to reports, the movie has received formal certification from both the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the British Film Institute (BFI). Vivek Rangachari, Vaishali Paatil, Faraz Ahsan, Clare Cahill, and Ajit Pal Singh were responsible for producing it.
Hydari, who will play Mehak, told Deadline that she was “instantly drawn to the story that brings to the screen the life and legacy of an extraordinary woman—a story lost in history. While Princess Sophia is a heroine in the true sense of the word, Mehak is an equally strong character whose journey parallels the lioness’s in the present.”
