"I informed John about the Hollywood project with Rachel and he was very excited," said Deepa
"I had no intentions of coming to Cannes. But my producers decided to announce the project. The real-life inspiration for the female lead is Julia Hill and she also came to Cannes. However, Julia won't be participating in the making of the film," she said.
"John, who plays an environmentalist in Luna, is not an Indian, nor an American in the film. His culture origins aren't specified. Unlike in Water, in this film, he won't be a man in a dhoti playing the basuri. This makes him Bollywood's first actor to crack the West without playing an NRI or some exotic creature. He has a full-fledged role opposite Rachel."
"The true-life inspiration for the film, Julia Hill, just loved John. Her approval was very important. She thought he looked like Antonio Banderas." she said.
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