Indian American Actor Kunal Nayyar to Executive Produce Nitya Mehra’s Animated Feature ‘Diya’
- The mythology-based fantasy adventure, honing in on the folklore of India, is co-written by Shiwani Srivastava and Dr. Amy Bhatt.
“The Big Bang Theory” fame Kunal Nayyar has come on board as executive producer for Nitya Mehra’s animated feature “Diya,” for Reel FX Originals. According to Deadline, “Diya” will be a mythology-based fantasy adventure, honing in on the folklore of India.
It is written by Shiwani Srivastava and Dr. Amy Bhatt and is produced by Steve O’Brien and Jared Mass of Reel FX Originals. Nayyar is executive producing through his company, Good Karma Productions, alongside his head of production, Jason Hiro Kim. Lucas Koppel serves as executive in charge of production on behalf of Reel FX Originals, as reported by Deadline.
Nayyar is an actor-producer best known for playing Raj Koothrappali on CBS’ hit sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.” He has also lent his voice to the hit animation film franchises “Trolls” and “Ice Age.” He currently stars in the Apple TV+ series “Suspicion” and will next be seen in the Netflix feature “Spaceman.” He most recently executive produced Vertical Entertainment’s romance, “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry,” in which he also stars.
Mehra made her directorial and screenwriting debut in 2016 on the hit film “Baar Baar Dekho,” starring Siddharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif. She received critical acclaim for her film, “Chaand Mubaarak,” in the Hindi anthology “Unpaused.”
She is the showrunner, executive producer and director of the Amazon series, “Made In Heaven,” which is currently in post-production for its second season. Her upcoming slate also includes a new series with Amazon Prime, as well as projects with Roy Kapur Films, Excel Entertainment and Rainshine Global. She started her career as an assistant director to seasoned filmmakers like Ang Lee and Mira Nair on the films “Life of Pi” and “The Namesake,” respectively.
A ScreenCraft award-winning writer, Srivastava’s debut screenplay “Wedding Season,” produced by Netflix and Imagine Entertainment, is set for release as a feature this year. A writer, museum curator and academic, “Bhatt” is also the author of “High-Tech Housewives” and the co-author of “Roots & Reflections: South Asians in the Pacific Northwest.”