Jagmohan Mundhra set to provoke again

Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS) After provoking the Indian audience with his last movie 'Provoked', Hollywood-based Indian filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra has taken up yet another sensitive subject for his latest movie 'Shoot On Sight'.

It is about the West's perception of Muslims following 9/11. The movie's take-off point is the order London Police passed to shoot suspected terrorists after the July 7, 2005, London subway bombings.

The story, penned by Mundhra himself, revolves around the life of Tariq Ali (Naseeruddin Shah), a Lahore-born Muslim officer of Scotland Yard and the perplexities he is thrown into when tasked to investigate a police shooting of a suspected Muslim terrorist.

'Ali finds himself in a tight corner as he is not trusted by his superiors in the force and by his fellow Muslims as well. How he confronts the truth is what the movie is all about,' Mundhra told IANS.

He said though the subject is sensitive he has tried to provide a balanced view of it, taking into account the points of view of the Muslims and the common perception of the Muslims in the West at present.

'But 'Shoot On Sight' is essentially a thriller,' Mundhra stressed.

Produced by the New York-based businessman Aron Govil, the film's screenplay is written by Carl Austin and the music set by John Altman.

The cast also includes Om Puri, Gulshan Grover, Pakistani actor Mikaal Zulfikar, Laila Rouses, Greta Scacchi, Brian Cox, Sadie Frost, Clemency Burton-Hill, Taru Devani, Clifford Samuel and Arrun Harker.

First-time producer Govil said he would release the film himself in March the world over.

Mundhra, who thrives on controversies as all his movies have so far stoked debates in varying degrees, said his next venture would be a song-and-dance commercial Bollywood-type masala movie with Govinda in the lead.