In a bid to ensure that their project on Kaali has all the right elements, the team behind the movie – "Kaali: The Warrior Goddess" – is now trying to rope in AR Rahman and Illayaraja for the film. The 3D film, which may have Shakira playing the role of Kaali, has no Bollywood star at present in a big role, and may not have one in the future too .
Speaking to TOI, producer Karan Arora, CEO of High Ground Entertainment, who's making the movie in association with Walter Anderson, says, "We are looking at AR Rahman and Illayaraja being part of the project. Music wise, they both can bring a lot to the table. During Rahman's recent tour, we initiated some kind of an informal talk with one of his team members. We may be able to do things together. John Altman, who did the music for "Titanic" is a part of our project."
While initial discussions with Shakira have generated a positive response, Arora says that the film will only be able to go on the floors by April next year. He says, "We've been working on the movie for the last 7-8 months, but a project like this usually takes 3-4 years. This kind of a film needs too much of VFX; it's like the work done on movies like " Alice In Wonderland" and " Avatar". It's very tedious. Earlier, we were busy getting our finances in place. Talks with Shakira too have been advancing. But, all the paperwork and technicalities would take time and I'm guessing the movie will go on the floors by April next year. And the earliest release I can anticipate is 2013."
Even though the project is news at the moment, it wasn't so when the team started thinking about it, says Arora. He adds, "When we started off, this wasn't supposed to be as big, forget about going to such big stars. The movie required a lot of money and our attention was only on the cost. But, once the investors came in, everything went on track. Shakira just happened for the project. With such a brand name, investors see security."
Even before Shakira expressed interest, Bollywood was never on their radar. Says Arora, "Before we spoke to Shakira, we were only targeting mediocre British actors – people who were not stars but could act. But we never considered any Indian name because we felt that with an Indian name, we wouldn't be able to present the movie to an international audience. I'm not saying we'd thought of her name, but let's say Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would've been part of the project. When you think of an Indian name from an international perspective, hers is the first name that comes up. But even that's not big enough for an international movie.
Realistically, an actor from India wouldn't have brought anything on the table, either in terms of brand or investors. With an international actor, especially like Shakira, you get both." Also, says Arora, Indian artistes are wary of doing mythological roles. He says, "The West looks more positively at our mythology. Try to approach someone here for a mythological look, and they are wary. The West finds it much more exotic."
The UK-based producer's production house Picture Thoughts Production is working with Indian actors too. There's "Bhindi Bazaar Inc" with Kay Kay Menon, Piyush Mishra and Deepti Naval, directed by Ankush Bhatt which releases in November. Then there are two more films – "Padosi" and "Let's Talk Love" in the anvil.
Says Arora, "The movie "Padosi" is with Ranvir Shorey and Vinay Pathak and is directed by Pratham Jolly. It's the story of two timid soldiers in the year 1949, two years after Partition, who get stuck on the India- Pakistan border. There are wounds that haven't healed yet. "Let's Talk Love" is by Nandita Kothari and we are in talks with Madhavan and Arjun Rampal for the lead, and Prachi for the female lead. The movie is scheduled to be shot in Fiji and London, and the Fiji government is partnering with us for this." There's also another untitled project with Sanjay Dutt and Nana Patekar, which is still being developed. Says Arora, "We do script farming, which is about identifying content and making it in cost effective ways. I have heard more than hundred scripts. We want to work with actors and not just stars."
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