Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda will direct the family drama series 'Asur' for Netflix

A1 Digital India News: The arthouse star and Palme d'Or winner is remaking the classic Japanese drama 'Like Asura' with popular local actresses Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi and Suzu Hirose.

Hirokazu Kore-eda, courtesy of Tokyo International Film Festival Japanese art-house star Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Monster) has teamed up with Netflix to write and direct Asura, a contemporary remake of the classic Japanese family drama series from the late 1970s. The show, starring popular actresses Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi and Suzu Hirose, has completed production and will launch on Netflix on January 9.

Kore-eda and his team conceived the series as a tribute to influential Japanese TV writer Kuniko Mukoda, who wrote the original Like Asura and many other milestones in the early days of the J-drama genre.

"With great respect for Mukoda and the impact of her career, Kore-eda brings a unique vision to Asura, highlighting the independence and complexity of women," Netflix said in a statement.

Kore-eda adds: "What makes Kuniko Mukoda's drama refreshing is the superficial venom scattered in the dialogue and the love hidden behind the bad words. The four actors playing the sisters understand this very well, so this series was made for that." It was a lot of fun, Japi."

Like the original, Kore-eda's series is set in 1979 and follows four sisters - Sunako, Makiko, Takiko and Sakiko - whose lives are rocked when they discover their elderly father is having an affair with someone else. Like the "Asura" deities in Buddhist cosmology, these women embody a whirlwind of emotions, clashing rapidly, yet sharing moments of deep connection. As they embrace their different perspectives on love and life, their journey is characterized by both conflict and growth.

The series was created and produced by Yasuo Yagi, who worked with Mukoda before his death in 1981.

"On the eve of the 40th anniversary of his death, I revisited his work and realized that Like Asura was at the center of his legacy," Yagi said. "We focused on casting the best actors for the sisters, and With Kore-eda as director, I am convinced we have created a quintessential drama." Kore-eda, an Oscar nominee and Palma d'Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival for his acclaimed drama Shoplifters, will make his series debut with Netflix in 2023 with The Makanai: Cooking for the Mako House, a gentle drama based in a Kyoto house adapted from a popular manga about young girls adjusting to life as geisha. However, that show was partly a showcase for the young Japanese director's talents, with Kore-eda overseeing the project but only directing the first episode.

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