South African film producer Anant Singh announced at a press conference in Mumbai, India that the sequel to the hit comedy “Mr Bones’ will be partly shot on location in the Indian subcontinent, as a co-production with an Indian production company.
Also present at the press conference were the star and creator of “Mr. Bones’, Leon Schuster, writer/director Gray Hofmeyr, executive producer Sudhir Pragjee and South African Consul General in Mumbai, Ms Busi Khuzwayo. The announcement followed a 10-day recce and location scouting exercise by Schuster and Hofmeyr.
Said Singh: “Mr Bones was very popular with Indian audiences, both in theatres and on TV, and it was dubbed into Hindi and other local languages. We are thrilled to be doing a film in India which has the largest film industry in the world, making more movies than Hollywood, and which is supported by a vast audience from a population of more than a billion people.
“It makes perfect sense for Mr Bones, a white African sangoma, to end up in India to continue his journey in an exotic location and to generate his unique brand of chaos. We have also had fruitful discussions with potential co-production partners among whom are Mohan Shetty of AdLabs, Bobby Bedi of Kaleidoskope Entertainment and Ronnie Screwvalla of UTV.’
Schuster commented, “The Indian audiences enjoy visual humour and I am thrilled that they embraced Mr Bones. Just looking around the country, the people and all the goings-on, Gray [Hofmeyr] and I already have some great ideas for a really hilarious and amusing script. I am truly looking forward to my Indian adventure.’
The sequel to Mr Bones is scheduled to be shot in India later this year and marks the first time that a SA/India co-production will be shot in both SA and India. This production is an extension of the significant economic and cultural ties that the two countries have developed.
