Posted:
ollywood remake for Srijit's Rajkahini'
Priyanka Dasgupta,TNN | Oct 8, 2015, 02.27AM IST
- Google Plus
- SMS
Text resize:AAA
KOLKATA: Srijit Mukherji's Partition tale 'Rajkahini' is on its way to being remade in Hindi as 'Lakir'. This film will mark the directorial debut of Srijit in Bollywood. 'Lakir' will be a joint venture between Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films and 'Rajkahini's producer Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF).
Speaking to TOI about 'Rajkahini' that deals with the trauma of displaced women in a brothel after the Radcliffe line was arbitrarily drawn, Bhatt said, "I'm moved by its emotional starkness. The use of the last four stanzas of Tagore's Jana-gana-mana in the sound track has had a cleansing effect on me."
Shrikant Mohta of SVF said Bhatt's offer to jointly remake 'Rajkahini' has left him speechless. "He wants to speak to the highest authorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan to release 'Rajkahini' there. The closest I came to such an experience was after producing 'Chokher Bali'. Also, it's for the first time that a remake of a film has been finalized even before it's released," Mohta said.
Unlike most Hindi remakes of earlier Bengali films, contemporary remakes didn't cut ice. Directors of the originals have often had little creative control over the remakes. A Marathi remake of Srijit's 'Hemlock Society' was helmed by Umesh Gadge. But 'Lakir', Bhatt insists, will have Srijit helming the project. Insisting that Srijit and he share an 'emotional frequency', Bhatt said, "While 'Mandi' had a situation of a wh**ehouse, 'Rajkahini' goes way beyond just being that. Srijit is my favourite Indian director."
Describing Bhatt's praise as 'heartfelt and genuine', Srijit insisted that he is 'creatively and emotionally happy' to make his Bollywood debut. Srijit had requested Srijato to pen the Hindi script. Unlike 'Rajkahini' that deals with the aftermath of Partition in Bengal, 'Lakir' is set in Punjab. "Displaced people everywhere share similar sentiments. The wh**ehouse in 'Lakir' will have a pan-Indian representation. I have attributed regional identities to the women. While one woman is a Marathi, another is from South India," Srijit said.
Meanwhile, Mukesh Bhatt is now in Bangladesh trying to work on the release of Indian movies there. "It's much like the process we followed for releasing our films in Pakistan. I have spoken on this with Bangladesh cultural affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor," he said.
The challenge in the making of 'Lakir' lies in getting an equally "motivated a team of actors" in Bollywood. "It's a miracle that this team made a film like this in such a budget," Bhatt said, describing Rituparna Sengupta's performance as one of the 'bravest' he has seen. "Alia Bhatt's performance in 'Highway' was very brave. I told Ritu that her performance as Begum Jaan is of another class," Bhatt said, adding he has asked both Alia and Vidya Balan to watch 'Rajkahini'.
Yet, 'Lakir' might require Srijit to look at a different actor playing Begum Jaan. "We have retained the name of Begum Jaan but have changed her character in 'Lakir'. With 'Rajkahini', Ritu has surpassed her earlier work. She might play another character in 'Lakir'," Srijit signed off.
Speaking to TOI about 'Rajkahini' that deals with the trauma of displaced women in a brothel after the Radcliffe line was arbitrarily drawn, Bhatt said, "I'm moved by its emotional starkness. The use of the last four stanzas of Tagore's Jana-gana-mana in the sound track has had a cleansing effect on me."
Shrikant Mohta of SVF said Bhatt's offer to jointly remake 'Rajkahini' has left him speechless. "He wants to speak to the highest authorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan to release 'Rajkahini' there. The closest I came to such an experience was after producing 'Chokher Bali'. Also, it's for the first time that a remake of a film has been finalized even before it's released," Mohta said.
Unlike most Hindi remakes of earlier Bengali films, contemporary remakes didn't cut ice. Directors of the originals have often had little creative control over the remakes. A Marathi remake of Srijit's 'Hemlock Society' was helmed by Umesh Gadge. But 'Lakir', Bhatt insists, will have Srijit helming the project. Insisting that Srijit and he share an 'emotional frequency', Bhatt said, "While 'Mandi' had a situation of a wh**ehouse, 'Rajkahini' goes way beyond just being that. Srijit is my favourite Indian director."
Describing Bhatt's praise as 'heartfelt and genuine', Srijit insisted that he is 'creatively and emotionally happy' to make his Bollywood debut. Srijit had requested Srijato to pen the Hindi script. Unlike 'Rajkahini' that deals with the aftermath of Partition in Bengal, 'Lakir' is set in Punjab. "Displaced people everywhere share similar sentiments. The wh**ehouse in 'Lakir' will have a pan-Indian representation. I have attributed regional identities to the women. While one woman is a Marathi, another is from South India," Srijit said.
Meanwhile, Mukesh Bhatt is now in Bangladesh trying to work on the release of Indian movies there. "It's much like the process we followed for releasing our films in Pakistan. I have spoken on this with Bangladesh cultural affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor," he said.
The challenge in the making of 'Lakir' lies in getting an equally "motivated a team of actors" in Bollywood. "It's a miracle that this team made a film like this in such a budget," Bhatt said, describing Rituparna Sengupta's performance as one of the 'bravest' he has seen. "Alia Bhatt's performance in 'Highway' was very brave. I told Ritu that her performance as Begum Jaan is of another class," Bhatt said, adding he has asked both Alia and Vidya Balan to watch 'Rajkahini'.
Yet, 'Lakir' might require Srijit to look at a different actor playing Begum Jaan. "We have retained the name of Begum Jaan but have changed her character in 'Lakir'. With 'Rajkahini', Ritu has surpassed her earlier work. She might play another character in 'Lakir'," Srijit signed off.
Book Talk
Anupamaa
0