After two films in US, Varun Khanna enters Bollywood

Mumbai, Dec 28 (IANS) Filmmaker Varun Khanna, who has made two little-known films in the US, is now ready to test Bollywood waters with a comedy titled 'Bad Luck Govind', which he says is inspired by a Buddhist chant.

'Bad Luck Govind' is a riot comedy with elements of dramatic moments and uses the power of music, laughter and comedy to communicate,' Khanna said in a statement released here.

'The concept of 'Bad Luck Govind', to a certain extent, is influenced by the Buddhist chant 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo', which put simply is waking up to the true nature of life and realising that all things are connected, and through the close relationship between us and our surroundings, we have the ability to change ourselves and the world we live in,' he added.

Releasing Jan 23, 'Bad Luck Govind - Muqaddar Ka Bandar' is also written and produced by Khanna and stars VJ Gaurav Kapur and Hrishitaa Bhatt in the lead.

Other actors in the movie include Govind Namdev, Parmeet Sethi, Vrajesh Hirjee, Lalit Mohan Tiwari and Ganesh Yadav. Actress Archana Puran Singh also marks her presence with a special appearance.

Raised in Mumbai, Khanna started off as a theatre actor at the age of 17 with his production of Peter Shaffer's 'Equus'. He graduated in Physics at Xavier's College here and followed it up with a Masters in Scenic Design from the University of Akron, US, and a Masters in directing and acting from Ohio State University.

After running a theatre company in Ohio, he moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and did television news until he completed the script for his first English film 'Beyond Honor' in 2004 that received good reviews for its subject.

He followed it up with another venture 'American Blend' in 2006.

His debut Hindi film revolves around a down-on-luck young man Govind (Gaurav) from Delhi, who is both compulsive and obsessive in nature.

A hilarious incident with a news anchor Mamta (Archana) lands him in Mumbai and his life takes a turn when he collides with six underworld bookies and a nurse.

Their fates and luck intertwine and what follows is mayhem.

Throwing light on the genesis of the film, Khanna said: 'It all started with the internal questioning of my personal relationship with the cosmic energies of the world. Sitting in southern California, my idea was to use the power of laughter and comedy to get across the message of love, faith, and positive thinking.

'I had written and directed two English films, but now I wanted to write in Hindi - a film that would find resonance with our people, our culture, our beliefs and our spirituality.'

Backed by foot tapping numbers by singers Mika, Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan, the film offers an unconventional soundtrack.