Are you 30-ish, Punjabi and with a penchant for passionate poetry? A hunt is on for the correct individual to play the legendary Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi in a bio-pic to be directed by Mudazzar Aziz.
He died at age 36 of a broken heart. The legendary Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi wrote immortal love poems but couldn't get the lady he loved.
And now Batalvi's love and poems could be part of a feature film to be directed by Mudassar Aziz. Once referred to as Sushmita Sen's boyfriend, Mudassar is today struggling to ascertain a foothold some of the fraternity of filmmakers in Mumbai.
The film's producer Sunil Bohra says he's going to be traveling to Pakistan to get the right kind face for the part. He's going to even be shooting the film in Pakistan. However, there's a problem with the travel around the border. Bohra is phobic about air travel. He'll therefore be traveling from side to side between the Indian border and Pakistan by train and bus together with his unit.
Bohra says he chose Mudassar for the reason that young director has felt the pangs of affection and what it feels to lose it. Says Bohra, "I WISHED someone with a wounded heart. Batalvi spent his entire lifetime writing probably the most exquisite love poems. He wrote about love because he couldn't get the lady he loved. His lines are sung, hummed, chanted and utilized in everyday language. There is a Batalvi Diwas celebrated among NRIs Punjabis within the UK and the united states".
Bohra has spent the last three years of his life researching Batalvi's poetry. "To me the person is the poetry. The hero of my film would be the poetry. I've undergone it all. We've shifted through his entire body of labor. Believe me, to move through Batalvi's poetry is to be born again as a person. His lines are life-changing. I'M using his poetry for the lyrics. And the composition and voices could be by musicians from India and Pakistan."
Interestingly, Bohra desires to shoot the film in Pakistan. "Yes, part of the film might be shot in Pakistan. Batalvi was born in Sialkot district that is now in Pakistan. We're within the strategy of getting the relevant permission."
In the meanwhile, Mudassar Aziz goes ahead full-throttle along with his pre-production. Says Aziz, "THIS CAN BE A film that a far experienced filmmaker must have made. It's the most incredible story. It has romance, passion, pathos and above all, poetry. And all in larger-than-life shades. I CAN must travel in every single place Punjab and to Pakistan. If I'M creating a film on Batalvi, I WOULD LIKE it to be a piece that may do him proud."
