BBC Studios & Disney+ Hotstar Reveal School of Lies

BBC Studios India has produced the Hindi original School of Lies for Disney+ Hotstar, where it will begin streaming on June 2.

The show is directed by Avinash Arun, who co-created the mystery drama with Ishani Banerjee. Nimrat Kaur leads the cast, alongside Varin Roopani, Divyansh Dwivedi, Aryan Singh Ahlawat, Hemant Kher, Parthiv Shetty, Adrija Sinha and Aalekh Kapoor.

School of Lies is a drama thriller set in the fictional Dalton Town, surrounded by hills where a young 12-year-old boy goes missing from private boarding school RISE, and the subsequent domino effect it causes as the truth is only as complex, as simple.

Arun said, “School of Lies is a story that we all have read in the news at least once in our lives—students getting bullied and facing multiple issues in school. These are challenges that every child would have faced at one time or another and with School of Lies, we aim to dig deeper into the complexities of these issues. For me, this story is like a fairytale gone wrong as ‘Alice’ realizes that the fall to a ‘rabbit hole’ is just a fall into the black hole.”

Kaur said, “With the shoot of School of Lies, I have learnt a lot about children and how they can surprise you at every step of the way. This unique series is inspired by real events that I have heard of, and brings an uncanny spin to it as it reveals what goes on behind the closed doors of a boarding school. Playing the role of a school guidance counselor in such a pressured environment was definitely something new that I tried with this show—which gave me an insight into these worlds, that we are not anymore a part of and I am truly grateful for that.”

Sameer Gogate, general manager of production at BBC Studios India, said, “We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with Disney+ Hotstar and delighted to be working with Avinash and Nimrat and a stellar cast to bring this gripping, original story to audiences. School of Lies is an enthralling mystery inspired from a set of true events. The story is about a boarding school that is plagued by the disappearance of a young boy and exposes the systemic failures and the plight to unravel the truth, while showcasing the myriad of emotions and situations children face every day as they brace life. It brings to light the intricate lives of young students as they grow up, their families and the boarding school ecosystem.”