New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- There are obvious parallels to be drawn between the works of Shakespeare and India's own literary canon. Themes of family obligation, betrayal, love, revenge and sacrifice have defined much of our storytelling for centuries, from Mahabharat to Mirza Sahiba, so it's no wonder that Bollywood adaptations of the Bard's work have been so successful in the past (most notably Vishal Bhardwaj's trilogy).

It's what helped both Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karia, the actor and director, respectively, behind this year's Hamlet, feel connected to a genre of literature they'd once assumed to be exclusionary. Encouraged by one of his school teachers, Ahmed read the play for the first time at the age of 16 and was surprised by how much he...