Netflix has created a great impression among its Indian fanbase with its first desi show, Sacred Games. Created by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the show, in its first season, received widespread acclaim both for its narrative, execution and performances. While Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui walked with the lion's share of the praises, Sacred Games also made stars out of Kubbra Sait, Rajshri Deshpande, Jatin Sarna, Jitendra Joshi who were present in supporting roles. Netflix is also releasing a 3-episode horror series, called Ghoul, starring Radhika Apte.

Now they have made a major announcement when they revealed they have cast Emraan Hashmi as the lead in Bard of Blood, which is also an adaptation of a book. What's interesting about the project is that it will be co-produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. Here are all the updates that have come up about the show -

The book

Bard of Blood is based on Bilal Siddiqui's book by the same name, published by Penguin Books. Here's what the website of the publishing house has to say about the book - "The Valiant never taste of death but once. A gripping thriller, researched with the assistance of US and Indian intelligence agents, war correspondents and crime writer S. Hussain Zaidi. Delhi's power circles are shocked to discover ex- Raw boss Sadiq Sheikh has been murdered. Kabir Anand is setting into his new life as a professor of Shakespeare in Mumbai, when a call from the PMO thrusts him back into the world he is trying to forget. A brilliant agent who served under Sadiq Sheikh, Kabir has been forced to leave RAW because of a disastrous mission in Balochistan in 2006 -- part of India's covert support of the Balochi rebels. Kabir must now revisit those ghosts, average his mentor and face his deadliest enemies - Mullah Omar and the ISI -- while racing against time to save his country."

Sounds exciting!

The showrunners

It was back in November last year that we heard about this collaboration between Netflix, author Bilal Siddiqui and Shah Rukh Khan. The streaming service had posted a picture of the team with Shah Rukh Khan, confirming the joint venture. In a statement earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had said, "We have always tried to create world class content and entertainment from India. Netflix has shown that Indian stories have a global audience and we would love to use this platform and its reach to tell more stories." It has not been confirmed who would direct the show.

The lead actor

On July 27, it was confirmed that Emraan Hashmi would be playing the lead. He would be playing ex-RAW agent turned English professor, Kabir Anand in the series. Shah Rukh Khan had welcomed him on board with a warm tweet.

Hashmi, who was last seen in 2017's Baadshaho, is currently shooting for Cheat India. He has also completed the shoot for The Body, directed by Jeetu Joseph and co-starring Rishi Kapoor.

The announcement teaser

Netflix had made the announcement of Emraan''s casting through the below video -

The series

Bard of Blood will be conceived as an eight-episode series and will be filmed in languages including Hindi, English and Urdu. The details of the launch date are yet to be confirmed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2018 08:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).