Netflix Inc, online entertainment service in association with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment announced a new multilingual Netflix original series, based on the book, Bard of Blood. Penned by author Bilal Siddiqi, the book will be brought to life as an eight-episode high-octane political espionage thriller series for more than 109 million members around the world.

Set against the backdrop of the Indian subcontinent, the multilingual series will tell the story of an expelled spy, Kabir Anand, who is recalled from his new life as a Shakespeare professor in Panchgani to save his country and long-lost love. A combination of combat skills, intellectual background and personal circumstances propel Kabir to avenge the past and face his deadliest enemies in a race against time.

“The series will involve intricate, highly-stylised action sequences never before seen on screen in India. The series will be shot on location and the characters will interact in Hindi, Urdu, English and other languages,” said sources close to the project.

Confirming the news, Shah Rukh Khan 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.”

Venky Mysore, CEO of Red Chillies said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership to the Netflix Original series. Gaurav Verma and our team at Red Chillies have put it together and we can’t wait to bring this thrilling nail-biter to screens around the world.”

Reed Hastings, Netflix founder and CEO, said, “We believe in the global vision of Red Chillies to create groundbreaking content out of India. It’s exciting to deepen our relationship with Red Chillies and expand our slate of originals in India... We are thrilled to work with a brilliant, young writer like Bilal Siddiqi and take his gripping, inventive storytelling to Netflix members worldwide.”