Rahul Bose to make film on illicit affairs

Bollywood actor Rahul Bose will direct a film next year based on a novel - Moth Smoke written by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid - about an extra-marital affair in contemporary Pakistan.

The shooting is expected to begin by October. "In two weeks time, the final draft will be ready and the funders, who absolutely loved it, are waiting for it," Bose said.

Bose, whose roles of the urban intellectual man have won him many awards and critical acclaim, has directed only one film - Everybody Says I'm Fine released in 2002 - which earned him recognition as a director and writer.

Known for his portrayal of characters like the Muslim man who helps a Hindu girl during communal riots in the 2002 film Mr and Mrs Iyer, Bose believes Bollywood will see more successful movies made with moderate budgets.

Rahul Bose's Second Directorial Venture

If all goes well, Rahul Bose will be directing his second feature film four years after Everybody Says I'm Fine.

The film will be a screen adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's 2000 debut novel Moth Smoke. Says Rahul, "It's too early to talk about the film. I'm co-writing the screenplay with a writer in Los Angeles – a very close friend of mine Satish Menon, and Nishar Modi.

The final draft will be ready by May 15. One international and two Indian producers have shown interest in the project. But, I wouldn't like to name them now. There are many a slips between the cup and the lip."

At the moment Rahul has paid for the filming rights of Moth Smoke from his own pocket. "My three producers were willing to pool in the money to buy the rights. But, I wasn't comfortable with that deal. I'd like to have full creative control over the project," he says.

What Rahul loved about the book is that it's both about love and hatred.

He explains, "It's a love and hate triangle, incredibly plausible on both levels. The challenge is to take the micro aspect of the novel to the macro level on screen. The exuberance of Everybody Says I'm Fine will be curbed."

Getting the rights of the book wasn't really a problem in spite of it being by a Pakistani novelist. Commenting about his long absence from filmmaking, Rahul says, "Ideally I'd have loved to direct another film much earlier. Perversely, I've taken that time to do the maximum number of films including the unreleased Kaal Purush, Anuronan, The Whisperers, Before The Rains and now Aparna Sen's The Japanese Wife. I've never done so many films before."

Rahul Bose is currently shooting for Aparna Sen's The Japanese Wife in Kolkata. "It's been the toughest role of my career. The whole notion of doing something I've never done before is scary. The layers in the character are hardly visible. And, I can't let the character's confusions show on screen. It's very international in texture. It's more of Latin-American flavour. Like some of Satyajit Ray's film, The Japanese Wife belongs to world cinema," says Rahul.

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Feluda’ on International scene

According to Bollywood News & Gossip, BBC will soon air the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s detective character in literature Feluda. Rahul Bose, Anupam Kher, Jackie Shroff, Dalip Tahil and Jaspal Bhatti have been roped in to do two special dramatized versions of the detective series in English on BBC World Service radio. Rahul Bose will step into the shoes of the fictional Bengali super brain to life in the two stories, with Anupam Kher playing his sidekick, the bumbling crime writer Lalmohan Ganguly. Jackie Shroff plays the fraudster Machchli Baba and Dalip Tahil the arch-villain Meganlal Meghraj in story The Mystery of the Elephant God. Jaspal Bhatti will feature in the other story, The Golden Fortress, playing the jolly taxi driver who steers his cab with his tummy. Newcomer Hari Balasubramaniam will play Feluda’s cousin Topshe in both productions and legendary radio presenter Ameen Sayani will make an appearance in both. Sanjeev Kohli does the music composing part of it. English writer Ray Grewal turned the famous filmmaker’s fictional writing into radio plays.

BBC World Service has 42 million listeners in English around the world. It is broadcasting Feluda: The Golden Fortress as part of a special season of programmes called India Rising, which aims to deliver a close-up and personal look at modern India. BBC World Service will broadcast: Feluda: The Golden Fortress on Saturday, February 10, and Feluda: The Mystery of the Elephant God on Saturday, August 11.

'My niece keeps me connected with young minds'

Excited about his first film for children, talented actor Rahul Bose is spending a lot of time with his 10-year-old niece Alya to prepare for the role.

'I used a lot of my father's personality to play the father to two children in Buddhadeb Das Gupta's 'Kaal Purush'. Like my dad, my character was a very nurturing and tactile father. And now in this children's film, growing up with Alya has kept me totally in touch with how young minds work.

'I feel essentially all young minds have remained the same. They love anything that challenges the law of nature. Through Alya, I'm fully clued into young minds. Alya is part of my heart. And I certainly will bring my experiences with her into my role,' Rahul said.

To be directed by Tamara Nedungadi, who is Ken Ghosh's assistant, the untitled film will see Rahul as the captain of the Indian cricket team.

'Ken will be a creative consultant on the project. Children are a constituency I've never spoken to before. I've been waiting to do a film for children. It's part of my new leave-no-genre-untried policy.

'This one is exciting because I get to play the captain of the Indian cricket team. It's a funny warm and sentimental film. There's a brood of children in the film,' he said.

'In fact,' Rahul deadpanned, 'there was a huge tug-of-war between me and the child protagonist as to who would play the young lead. I lost because he was taller. But I still say I look younger, ha ha.'

As for his friendship with Nandita, 'We had to call off our torrid affair due to the intense media pressure. The media created differences where earlier there were none.'

Aparna Sen's 'Japanese Wife' with Rahul Bose and Raima Sen

Parallel filmmaker Aparna Sen has announced a new film called Japanese Wife. She has signed Raima Sen, Rahul Bose and a Japanese actress for the project.

Like all her women centric movies, Japanese Wife too focuses on two women. Its based on Kunal Basu's short story from West Bengal. Rahul Bose plays a man, who has a relationship with two women simultaneously. Raima Sen will be attending a workshop with theatre personality Sohag Sen and then start shooting from April.

Meanwhile Aparna Sen has decided to shelve her other project Jewellery Box starring Govinda, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan.

Short Film Starring Rahul Bose To Be Made Available On Mobile

Just In ! According to Nikhil Pahwa of Content Sutra, Phonethics Mobile Media has tied up with Reliance Communications to make available on Reliance Web World, their short film Ctrl+Alt+Del, starring actor Rahul Bose. As per the release, this is the first short movie to premiere on the mobile phones in India. I wouldn't call it a premiere, since it has been screened at film festivals, and on NDTVs Indie Film Club. Phonethics will also be developing 30-60 second and 3-5 minute long content for the mobile.

Phonethics apparently also has a tie-up with a Mumbai based animation studio for mass production of animated clips. Also, it's a 25 min long film, so I'm wondering if it will be piecemealed. You can check more details here.

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