The Fame Game showrunner Sri Rao says wanted to bring together all shades of Madhuri Dixit in series

Filmmaker Sri Rao is the showrunner and writer of The Fame Game. He shared that he always wanted to work on a project with Madhuri Dixit.

Filmmaker Sri Rao says the reason for him to mount his latest Netflix series "The Fame Game" was Madhuri Dixit Nene, as he wanted to create a project that would justify the actor's talent. The New York-based filmmaker is the showrunner and writer of the eight-episode series which chronicles the life of a movie star Anamika Anand, played by Dixit Nene, who suddenly goes missing.

Rao said when he was first approached by the streamer to make a series for them, he knew he had to craft something with Dixit Nene at the centre of it. "The trigger point for me was Madhuri, wanting to create a story and character for her that would do justice to her talent as an actress. When I was approached by Netflix to create a series for them, I knew I wanted it to be with Madhuri. Then I tried to come up with an idea that would be befitting to her talent, that is all how it started," Rao told PTI.

The filmmaker said Dixit Nene is among those artistes who have comfortably straddled both worlds of movies— she has delivered exceptional perfomances in blockbusters Devdas and Hum Aapke Hain Koun and also walked away with acclaim in dramas like Mrityudand and Lajja.

"I have been a huge Madhuri fan. I wanted to mount the series on her because she has done some brilliant roles, from the huge blockbusters like Devdas, Hum Aapke Hai Koun to what I consider the deeper cuts, like Mrityudand or Lajja which I really love.

"What I wanted to do was to create one story, one role, that could bring together all the different shades of Madhuri Dixit. To have her go through ups and downs, anger and sadness, love and romance, strength and vulnerabilities in one character was my aim," he added.

Rao, along with co-writer Nisha Mehta, spent months writing The Fame Game from their office in New York. The maker said despite more than a decade of writing experience -- with series like General Hospital: Night Shift, What Goes On and the Bollywood film Baar Baar Dekho - the process of crafting The Fame Game was "magical".

The duo not only deeply invested in getting the script right but also found an able support in Netflix, which gave them creative liberty, feedback and never interfered, "which does not happen always happen in this industry," he added.