Acclaimed filmmaker Deepa Mehta is developing “Sher,” a comedic take on the Sherlock Holmes universe that reimagines the detective’s legacy through an unexpected Indian connection.
“It’s a complete fun take on Watson,” Mehta tells Variety. “Sherlock Holmes is dead, and Watson is trying to sell his book about him everywhere, desperate. He’s not doing too well, and he comes to Calcutta.”
The film follows Dr. Watson as he gives a poorly-attended lecture in Calcutta (as Kolkata was known then) before making a startling discovery — Sherlock Holmes has an illegitimate daughter named Sher living in the city, born from an affair with “an Indian young woman while he was in Cambridge.”
The script, by British writer Johnny Gurzman, represents a commercial departure for Mehta, known for her more dramatic works including “Fire,” the Oscar-nominated “Water” and “Funny Boy.” “It’s great fun. It’s really interesting. Probably one of the most commercial things I’ve read and done,” she says of the film.
“Sher” is one of three projects Mehta currently has in development, though she’s uncertain which will move forward first.
As revealed by Variety, also in the works for Mehta is “Troilokya,” based on a true story of a prostitute in 1890s Calcutta who became a serial killer. The project is being written by acclaimed screenwriter Juhi Chaturvedi (“Hush Hush”) and produced by Priya Sridharan of Open Air in Mumbai and Aditya Chand’s Through the Lens Entertainment.
The story also follows “a Bengali policeman who is the only brown policeman in the whole British police force” who tracks and ultimately captures her after becoming fascinated with the case.
Mehta’s third project, “Forgiveness,” explores cross-cultural relationships in post-WWII Canada. Based on a true story and the book and script of the same name by Mark Sakamoto, the film examines the relationship between a Japanese-Canadian and white Canadian whose families were on opposite sides during the war — one family interned in Japanese-Canadian camps, the other imprisoned as POWs in Japan.
“It’s very, very close to my heart because it’s about exploring the other,” Mehta says of the project, which is “nearly financed.” The “Forgiveness” script draws from personal history, as Sakamoto’s family background mirrors the story — his father’s side being Japanese-Canadian who experienced internment camps, while his mother’s side included a grandfather who was a Canadian POW in Japan.
“The Japanese internment camp stories are so heartbreaking that it’s an important one,” Mehta adds, noting the significance of telling this Canadian historical narrative.
Career retrospective “Through the Fire: The Films of Deepa Mehta” runs April 4-23 at Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox.
