Girmit documentary set for Bollywood adaptation with Fiji shoot planned

The documentary Girmit is set to be adapted into an international feature film, with Bollywood actors expected to feature and filming planned in Fiji.

Film director Shyam Upadhyay said it was time to transform the documentary into a Bollywood feature film.

He made the comments during a community screening at Life Cinema in Nadi last Friday, attended by members of the business community in a packed theatre.

“This is basically the documentary, so we got a very good response from around the world, like from the USA, New Zealand, Australia, even the Kerala Film Festival and Nepal Film Festival,” he said.

“Now we are working on the feature film project. It is the same story, but it will be a very different kind of film. It will not be a hardcore Bollywood film, but a proper feature film.”

The movie is expected to run for about two and a half hours.

“We are already in conversation with a couple of Bollywood stars, and they have shown interest in working on this film,” Mr Upadhyay said.

“Hopefully, we will start the India shoot in November or December, then the Fiji part will be shot after February 2027.”

Mr Upadhyay said the film carried an important message for audiences around the world.

“As an Indian, before 2008 or 2009, even I did not know much about Girmit,” he said.

“When I got Rajendraji’s book Tears in Paradise, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this story should be told. This story should be seen by everyone in India and across the diaspora countries.’”

Mr Upadhyay met Rajendra Prasad, originally from Ba and now living in New Zealand, in 2008.

“The first time I met him was in 2008 when he came to the premiere of my first film in Auckland. It was an Indo-Kiwi film,” he said.

After the premiere, Mr Prasad gave him a copy of the book.

“He told me, ‘Please read my book and if you can, make a film on this.’ When I read the book, Tears in Paradise, after about 89 or 90 pages, there were literally tears in my eyes.

“It is a great story.”

Girmit was released in 2024. It was filmed in Fiji, India and New Zealand, and marked the fourth documentary or film directed by Mr Upadhyay.