Actress Swara Bhasker's Rasbhari will be competing at the Series Mania International Festival in France. Produced by Tanveer Bookwala, the Applause Entertainment’s coming-of-age series will also be showcased at the festival, which will be held from March 22 to 30. It is being claimed that Rasbhari is the first Indian series to be selected for the Short Forms Competition at the fest.

“The artiste in me was thrilled to be a part of a unique narrative like ‘Rasbhari’ and I’m now beyond thrilled to know that our series has been selected for the prestigious Series Mania International Festival,” Swara said in a statement.

Fostering talent across the world, the ‘Series Mania International Festival’ brings together the who’s who of the content industry to celebrate their talent.

Produced and co-created by Tanveer Bookwala and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt (‘Saluun’ and ‘Brij Mohan Amar Rahe’), ‘Rasbhari’ is a coming of age love story, set in the Hindi heartland of small-town Meerut.  The writer of the runaway hit film ‘Badhaai Ho’ - Shantanu Shrivastava’s stirring words, delectable turn of phrase, delightful local dialect and wicked sense of humour, coupled with Nikhil’s deft direction makes every character in this show come alive. Headlining a terrific cast of actors, the critically acclaimed actor, Swara Bhasker who is noted for her roles in ‘Tanu weds Manu’ and ‘Ranjhana’, and her blazing success in ‘Veere Di Wedding’ will play the enigmatic character of ‘Shanu Madam’, who is the object of attraction for not only our young hero Nand (Ayushmaan Saxena), but also the entire male population of Meerut.

Swara's co-star Ayushmaan Saxena, who rose to fame through ‘Bombay Talkies’ and won several hearts moving onDance India Dance Season 4, brings to life Nand’s character, a sixteen year old who gets infatuated with his new English teacher. This story explores Nand’s rite of passage to adulthood with a strong dose of social satire, ridiculing these men and their inveterate sexism. The show also features Rashmi Agdekar, Pradyuman Singh, Neelu Kohli and Chitranjan Tripathi in pivotal roles. The title music has been composed by Chirantan Bhatt.

“We are delighted to represent India at the esteemed Series Mania International Festival, France. Good content has a global resonance, and our selection into the much sought after Series Mania Competition is a strong validation of this belief. Working in close collaboration with Team Applause, Tanveer, Shantanu and Nikhil have created a sparkling gem of storytelling, which is now finding an audience across borders and continents. We are excited to showcase this labour of love at the festival and are looking forward to stream it soon for viewers all over the world,” says Sameer Nair, CEO Applause Entertainment.

Tanveer Bookwala, Founder – Creative Director of Ding Entertainment added, “Rasbhari (literally translated as‘juicy’) is many parts sexy and all part social satire. We have created a delightfully quirky and heart-warming tale; set in the landscape of exotic small town India that we hope will appeal to prudes and poets alike.”

Swara Bhasker voices her strong opinion by saying, “The artiste in me was thrilled to be a part of a unique narrative like ‘Rasbhari’ and I’m now beyond thrilled to know that our series has been selected for the prestigious Series Mania International Festival! Thank you Tanveer and Ding for pulling this together, Shantanu for the writing, Nikhil for bringing it to life, my wonderful co-stars, especially Ayushmaan Saxena (Nand) and Applause Entertainment for their bold belief in us.”

The show will be streaming soon on a digital platform for the audiences to watch and relish.

Series Mania International Festival, held at Lille in France, draws the most renowned names of the global series universe together on one common platform. Right from its inception in 2010, they have been instrumental in recognizing and curetting the best series in the world. Through this 9-day dynamic event, Series Mania brings the most renowned creators, screenwriters, directors and talents of yesterday, today and tomorrow’s serial universe under one roof. Rasbhari has broken ground with its new-fangled narrative, impactful dialogues and eloquent cinematography. It has been selected alongside premium iconic shows for the Short Forms Competition, alongside -Break Up (France), Drive (Singapore), Fourchette (Canada), Germain s'éteint (Canada), Hell Is Other People (Denmark), M (Argentina), People Talking (Spain), State of the Union (United Kingdom) and ZéroStérone (France). The first two episodes will premiere at the festival itself.