Israeli gender-swap series to get Indian remake

A yet untitled web-series, based on the Israeli format "Re-Gender", which explores the relationship between the sexes, is set to be made for the digital space.

The reality show will launch on Arre', an upcoming content platform from UDigital Content, promoted by Ronnie Screwvala, former TV18 CEO B. Saikumar and former CNBC-TV18 COO Ajay Chacko.

While Arre' is yet to announce what the series will be called in India, the team will begin shooting in two to three weeks at a farmhouse in Chhatarpur in Delhi.

Excited about bringing the format to India, Saikumar, co-founder and managing director, UDigital, said in a statement: "We are hoping to break new ground with a show like 'Re-Gender' on digital media, in India.

"Definitions of gender roles and expectations are evolving everyday and is a much talked about and debated subject in India. We wish to bring our lens to the topic through a first-of-its-kind entertainment series with elements of drama, reality, emotion, new experiences with social learnings all rolled into one."

The show involves a social experiment that breaks down the rules of gender perception, thereby challenging society-defined gender stereotypes, read a statement.

Six people will change their sexual identity. The men will walk in the shoes of the women and the women, that of men. Through their assignments out in the real world as well as through dynamics with each other in the house, where they will live cut off from the world for a month, the contestants will discover certain not-so-obvious truths about the opposite sex.

The participants will undergo "intense gender training as well as emotional and physical transformations -- prosthetics, haircuts, styling and make-up; everything short of the knife".

The format distributor, Armoza Formats, has successfully completed seasons of the show on television in Israel and Germany.

Commenting on the partnership, Avi Armoza, founder and CEO, Armoza Formats, said: "The issues that the show deals with not only make for riveting viewing but also provoke important discussions in our society."