Exclusive: Utkarsh Ambudkar and Manny Magnus talk World’s Best
Streaming exclusively on Disney+ starting June 23 is World’s Best, directed by Roshan Sethi from a script written by Jamie King & Utkarsh Ambudkar. Produced by Thomas Kail and Kate Sullivan, the cast includes Utkarsh Ambudkar, Manny Magnus, Punam Patel, Jake Choi, Max Malas, Piper Wallace, Kayla Njeri, Dorian Giordano, Chris River, Christopher Jackson, and Doug E. Fresh.
In the midst of navigating the tumultuous hardships of adolescence, 12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar. While his recent actions may appear reckless and the quickest way for him to lose everything, Prem, empowered by imaginative hip- hop music-fueled fantasies where he performs with his father, is determined to find out if hip-hop truly is in his DNA. As his father always used to say, “the world’s best never rest.”
Ambudkar is currently starring in CBS’ breakout comedy Ghosts, and appeared in Hulu’s Theranos drama series The Dropout. According to Deadline, Ambudkar initially pitched the idea to Disney’s Sean Bailey in February 2020 and wrote the feature with Jessica Jones writer Jamie King. The pair have written together for a number of years after King would go to watch Ambudkar battle rap at NYC’s now defunct Leopard Lounge, which appears in the film.
Manny Magnus, who has previously starred in Amazon’s “I Want You Back” and Netflix’s “Raising Dion,” plays the main role of Prem.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Utkarsh Ambudkar and Manny Magnus about World’s Best.
