Amazon’s ‘Book of Strange New Things’ Pilot Casts Anil Kapoor

Bollywood legend Anil Kapoor has been cast in the pilot for Amazon’s adaptation of “The Book of Strange New Things.”

Based on the cult novel by Michel Faber, “Book of Strange New Things” concerns a priest who is sent into space to help form a new colony but instead winds up making some unpleasant, even terrifying discoveries. Kapoor will play Vikram Danesh, leader of the Oasis base visited by the priest.

To American audiences, Kapoor is best known for playing the game show host in Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire.” He was also seen on Season 8 of the Fox political thriller “24,” playing the president of a fictional Islamic country. He also costarred with Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”

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In his native India, Kapoor is a major film star, appearing in more than 150 films throughout a career that has spanned 36 years.

Realizing the potential of “24” in India, Kapoor bought the rights for a local version. That program became a hit, with Kapoor in the lead role as Jai Singh, based on Kiefer Sutherland’s counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer.

Faber was the author of the Victorian-era novel “The Crimson Petal and the White,” made into a BBC miniseries in 2011.

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