Britain-based Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha sports a brand new look and is able to wear the director’s hat again. She’ll soon begin filming a film on partition, to be shot in Delhi and Jodhpur, and is eager to rope in Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan as Jawaharlal Nehru in it.
Chadha, who has lost 25 kg, has already spoken to Naseeruddin Shah to play Muhammad Ali Jinnah within the film — and he’s game.
“This is my biggest challenge so far. I’ve been engaged on my partition film for a while now. The central character is Lord Mountbatten. The movie is about in January 1947 when Mountbatten was asked to supervise India and the movie leads to August 1947, so it’s a short lived time span.
“But (this is a) huge canvas requiring tonnes and tonnes of analysis and scores of characters. I’ve spoken to a couple people including Naseer and Saif. Nehru’s role is a cameo, so I'M WONDERING if Saif could be willing to do it,” she said on phone from London.
She was engaged on the partition film while changing nappies and feeding the babies. She plans to roll it on floors in October.
The film’s central figure can be Lord Mountbatten, and either of the 2 Hollywood biggies — Colin Firth or Michael Fassbender – will step in to play the role.
The “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice” filmmaker has already locked locations for the shooting.
“I’ve already acquired the mandatory permission to shoot everywhere in India including Rashtrapati Bhavan. So I'M prepared. I don’t must shoot in Pakistan in any respect. This may be my ultimate dream project and that i can’t stay up for it to take off,” she added.
But she has to attend until October because an astrologer has advised her so.
“The wife of the writer of the book, on which my partition film is based, is heavily into astrology. She says October is a superb time to start,” she said.
For now, she is calling forward to running between Blackpool and Manchester with the Olympics torch Saturday.
“Though it’s only a 300-yard run, I’ve been practising for it for months. There'll be 8,000 people to cheer me on. My friends and relatives are coming there with drums and other musical instruments to cheer me.
“I am super excited to has been selected to run and that i see it as a super honour. I AM GETTING to maintain the torch too, so my children could have an excessively special memento to maintain in years to come,” added the 52-year-old.
Since her five-year-old twins have started attending school now, she has six hours to herself at home.
“I’m making up for lost time,” she quipped.
Chadha was also in Mumbai last month for her friend Karan Johar’s 40th birthday party.
“But nobody saw me slip in and slip out, probably because there has been such a lot less of me now to see,” she quipped. – IANS
