By Ayanjit Sen BBC reporter in Delhi

The first Hindi soap opera for North American audiences is due to go on the air next month.

There will be a certain freshness to the story and hopefully it will both shock and surprise people

Milind Gaur, Director

Mrigrishna, or the Mirage, tells the story of three sisters in a wealthy Indian family living in the United States.

Aside from the familiar themes of family politics, jealousy and intrigue, the serial makers say they will also address sensitive issues such as homosexuality.

Cleveland-based River's West Productions is making the soap, which is being filmed on location in the United States, India and Thailand.

Following the huge success of recent Indian films such as Lagaan and Monsoon Wedding, River's West believes there is a massive market for Indian drama.

Exotic locations

The cast of Mrigrishna includes leading Indian video jockey Ruby Bhatia and Indian actors Benjamin Gilani and Tom Alter.

Jealousy and family intrigue will still feature

The production company has also hired leading costume designer Sujata Sharma, whose previous credits include Monsoon Wedding.

The director of the serial, Milind Gaur, said it will not be shot on sets but will exclusively use live locations.

"We have already shot a few episodes in Delhi and Bombay and will now be shooting in Bangkok," he told the BBC.

"There will be a certain freshness to the story and hopefully it will both shock and surprise people," he said.

The writers of the serial, Albert Grant and Patricia Anderson, are Americans, not Indians, and Mr Gaur said the series would not be like ordinary Hindi soap operas.

Huge audience

The executive producer of River's West Productions, Arman Ali, is confident the series will be successful.

English sub-titles may be added

"A huge South Asian population in the US and Canada have got very little in their own language on the television channels," he said.

Mr Ali said there were likely to be three million viewers in the United States alone as well as a sizeable audience in Canada.

He said the company will also try to air the serial in the UK.

The serial may also be sub-titled in English to widen the audience base.