Andhranews

The industry buzz has it that director Onir, who is looking forward to the Sanjay Suri, Urmila Matondkar, Jimmy Shergill and Juhi Chawla starrer Bas Ek Pal, has Hrithik Roshan in mind to play the lead role of Hamlet. When contacted, Onir confirmed that Hrithik Roshan was definitely the actor whom he wanted to cast in his version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

“It is true that I plan to approach Hrithik to play the lead in my film. He is a fabulous actor and would do full justice to the character of Hamlet,” Onir says. He adds that his Hamlet is an attempt to explore the mother-son relationship. “Hrithik has a sensitive face and personality any mother would be proud of,” Onir says.

Currently, at the scripting stage, Onir says that it is only after the release of Bas Ek Pal that Hamlet would hit the floors. “The project is being backed by Ambika Hinduja and Dinesh Raheja,” he informs. When asked what was it about Hamlet that fascinated him, Onir replies, “Basically, relationships fascinate me and Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores them very well. I have read Hamlet when I was in college and I don’t know what exactly, but there was something about it that moved me. Whether it was Hamlet’s relationship with his mother or his passionate love for his father. It was all there and it made an interesting drama.”

From the chic urban queen in Corporate to the wild untamed lioness in Omkara, Bipasha Basu reveals quite a range within a month. Very soon she will be seen in a new avatar in Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom 2. So, it’s Bipasha and not Aishwarya who gets into a bikini in Dhoom 2? “I’m not going to tell you. I can’t reveal anything yet. But yes, my character in Dhoom 2 is definitely nothing like Nishigandha in Corporate or Billo in Omkara,” Bipasha said.

“Billo is brief. But I don’t think she can be ignored,” Bipasha asserted on her va-va-voom role in Omkara. But she admits it is Corporate that brought her immense critical acclaim. “It’s just too much. Till today, I get appreciated by strangers. I know when the praise is genuine. Corporate has got me genuine encouragement,” Bipasha said.

“At the first screening of Corporate I had my family and friends watching it. When the film got nearly over, I walked out of the theatre because I’m a very shy person. When I came back my friends, family and boyfriend were all clapping. I burst into tears. I’m too emotional a person. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are they doing!’ From then on the response has just grown. It’s not like, ‘Bipasha, good job.’ Women and men have connected with the role. They pick out sequences and describe it in detail. I’ve never had this experience,” she says.

She feels after Corporate people have started trusting her as an actress. “They have realised I’m not just about looking good. That’s why I thank Madhur Bhandarkar. I know what I want to and can do,” she adds.

Fans of Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah can look forward to the two talented stars coming together again in ace director Rituparno Ghosh’s bilingual London Summer. To be made in English and Hindi, the film will be produced by management guru Arindam Chaudhary’s Planman Motion Pictures. Though the film is set in pre-Independence India, Ghosh is targeting a global audience.

Shabana and Naseer featured for the first time together in Shyam Benegal’s Nishaant in 1975. They are still remembered for their power-packed performance in Gautam Ghose’s National Award-winning film Paar in 1985.

Eros will distribute Provoked in US, UK

Eros International has acquired the rights to distribute Aishwarya Rai’s latest release, Provoked, in the UK, US and India. Provoked is based on the true story of a Punjabi woman named Kiranjit Ahluwalia who moves to England and marries a man who subjects her to violent physical abuse. In a fit of desperation, she resorts to killing him and is subsequently charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The movie follows her pursuit for justice. Kiranjit Ahluwalia’s story has succeeded in transforming the British judicial system and the meaning of “provocation” has since been redefined in the case of physically-abused women. The story has been so influential that a book was published on her life called Circle of Light, by Rahila Gupta. Provoked is directed by Jag Mundhra and stars Aishwarya Rai in the lead role.