PM Narendra Modi Meets Fauda Team In Isreal; Lior Riaz Reacts To Viral Moment As Their Selfie Goes Viral

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to Israel featured a pop-culture moment, as Modi met the team behind the Israeli series Fauda. The show’s creator and lead actor, Lior Raz, later spoke about the interaction and highlighted Modi’s encouragement for acting, production and the arts, while also pointing to Fauda’s strong and growing fan base in India.

During the visit, Modi shared a light-hearted selfie with the Fauda cast and crew on X. The image quickly drew attention from viewers in both countries. Alongside the photograph, Modi wrote, "Thankfully, this interaction required only a selfie, no undercover work! #Fauda." The message referenced the show’s undercover-operations theme in a playful way.

Narendra Modi Fauda meeting and cultural links

Raz later described the conversation with Modi as particularly meaningful for the Fauda team. Raz said that recognition from India mattered because the country represented a vast audience. Raz underlined Modi’s encouragement for artists and technicians. Raz also suggested that Israel could learn from India’s approach to supporting creative professionals across film, television and digital platforms.

In an interview with ANI, Raz spoke at length about the experience and Fauda’s bond with India. Raz said, "It was amazing, and it was a huge honour to meet the Prime Minister of India. Such a huge country, and we know that we have a large audience in India for our shows. To receive this honour from your Prime Minister — for us, it is great to see how he supports acting, producing and art in your country. I think this is something that we should learn to do in our country as well. We would love to collaborate again. My show Fauda had its Netflix premiere at the Goa Film Festival, and we would love to come back and do it again," said Lior Raz.

Modi’s interaction with the Fauda team took place during a two-day state visit to Israel. This visit marked the first trip by an Indian prime minister to the country in nine years. During the tour, India and Israel raised their relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership, signalling closer cooperation in defence, technology, trade and cultural exchange.

Narendra Modi Fauda series details and global reach

Fauda, created by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, is based on their time in the Israel Defense Forces. The drama follows Doron, a commander in an undercover Mista'arvim unit, and the squad’s operations. In the debut season, the team hunted a Hamas operative nicknamed "The Panther". The series gained worldwide visibility after its international release on Netflix.

The cast of Fauda includes Lior Raz, Hisham Sulliman, Shadi Mar'i, Laëtitia Eïdo, Tzachi Halevy, Yuval Segal, Neta Gerti, Tomer Kapon, Itzik Cohen and Rona-Lee Shimon. So far, four seasons have been released. The first season arrived in 2015 and was filmed in Kafr Qasim during the 2014 Gaza War, adding immediacy to the storyline.

Later seasons extended the narrative to new locations and conflicts. The second season premiered in 2017, while the third followed in 2019. The fourth season reached viewers in early 2023. Raz and the team have already completed production on a fifth season, which is expected to release within this year, continuing Fauda’s long-running arc.

Key broadcast information about Fauda’s seasons is shown below.

India has also created its own version of the show. The Indian adaptation, titled Tanaav, debuted in 2022 and has completed two seasons. The series stars Manav Vij, Arbaaz Khan, Danish Husain, Ekta Kaul and M.K. Raina, among others. Tanaav is available for streaming on SonyLIV, reflecting Fauda’s influence on South Asian storytelling.

Raz’s reminder of Fauda’s Netflix premiere at the Goa Film Festival and the warm reaction from Indian viewers highlighted how the show already linked the two countries. Modi’s meeting with the team, along with Raz’s openness to future collaboration, pointed to deeper cultural ties developing alongside the Special Strategic Partnership between India and Israel.