Foreign stars for ‘Backwaters’

By Bollywood Hungama -

December 30, 2003 - 12:00 AM IST

Jagmohan Mundhra is back in town, planning his new film. And by the time you are reading this, the director must've already reached L.A. to finalise the last-minute details before he embarks on the shooting of his new film BACKWATERS. Jags is all set to begin shooting of the film in Kerala [India], followed by a schedule in London. The maker has already roped in Billy Zane [he enacted the role of Kate Winslet's vile fianc?n TITANIC], Erika Eleniak [UNDER SIEGE] and Jeff Trachta [Thorne Forrester of THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL] to head the cast of the film. They [the three names] had committed their dates from January 2004. But we've altered our plans and hope to begin shooting from February 3 to March first week. In that case, I must have their confirmations again, Jags tells me. To be made in English language, Jags is exploring the possibility of making BACKWATERS in Hindi simultaneously. If feasible, we'll rope in three Indian stars for the Hindi version, he adds. Incidentally, Jags has spoken to Mohanlal to enact the role of a cop in the film. A thriller, BACKWATERS tells the story of a couple who meet with an accident in their country, but fly to India for an Ayurvedic treatment in Kerala. The wife, who is paralysed, goes missing one day. This is all the more mysterious since she is confined to a wheel chair. The husband then goes in search of his wife, Jags states. Not many are aware that Jags had attempted a similar story way back in 1982 when he made SURAAG [Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi]. Oh, you remember it?, he sounds astonished himself, Well, the story is slightly similar. [after a pause] SURAAG was much ahead of its times.