Bachchan mania in Kolkata 
By Taran Adarsh, March 13, 2007 - 03:12 IST
It’s Bachchan mania in Kolkata! The icon is in the city for Rituparno Ghosh’s new film, tentatively titled THE LAST LEAR, and the crowd is only
swelling with each passing hour. “Everyone knows how popular Mr. Bachchan is, but the crowd stationed outside the hotel as also outside the
studio [where the film is being shot] is swelling by the hour. It has to be seen to be believed. They [the fans] just want to have a glimpse of their
favorite star,” Shubho Shekhar Bhattacharjee of Planman states.
There’s tight security at the hotel, “yet the fans are least perturbed. It looks like one big mela,” Shubho smiles.
Being made in English, THE LAST LEAR is directed by Rituparno Ghosh. Besides Bachchan, it stars Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Shefali Shah, Jishu
Sengupta and Divya Dutta. Incidentally, THE LAST LEAR is the third project that brings Ghosh and Planman Motion Pictures together. The first,
DOSAR [Bengali], starred Konkona Sen Sharma and Prosanjit. The second, SUNGLASS, has been made in Hindi and Bengali versions. The Hindi
version stars Jaya Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Madhavan and Konkona Sen Sharma. It is currently in the post-production stages and is slated
for release in July/August.
Planman hopes to wrap a substantial part of THE LAST LEAR by 10th April in Kolkata. Subsequently, the film will be shot outdoors, in Austria
hopefully.
Meanwhile, Planman has roped in actor Saurabh Shukla to direct their next project, which will star Ranveer Sheorey and Rajat Kapoor in principal
roles. “It’s a romantic film and abounds in hilarious situations,” Shubho reveals. There’s another film on the anvil, to be directed by Sharat Katariya,
who was the chief assistant to Rajat Kapoor. Titled RANGEEN, the film is scripted by Sharat and Habib Faisal jointly. The casting of this film is
undecided.
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