Ash In ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’?

By IndiaFM News Bureau -

December 7, 2004 - 12:00 AM IST

Ketan Mehta is one busy man! With MANGAL PANDEY finally complete and scheduled for release in June 2005, the talented film-maker is planning his next venture sorry, two ventures. Read on I'd decided to make a trilogy at the very outset, starting with MANGAL PANDEY, Mehta informs me. Tell him that the promo of MANGAL PANDEY - premiered with the release of VEER-ZAARA - drew loud cheers and ceetees from the paying public and he grins from ear to ear. Wow! I couldn't be more delighted, he says, but adds in the same breath, I guess, it's the Aamir magic at work. But the pertinent question that continues to haunt me [I'm sure, so many readers across the globe also want to know it!] is, Is the shooting of MANGAL PANDEY finally complete? If yes, why does Aamir continue to sport long hair and moustache? Well, I've begun the post-production of the film. But if at all the possibility of doing some patchwork shooting [patchwork in film lingo means finishing touches] arises, we might go ahead with it. So, perhaps, Aamir wants to retain that look till everything is complete, the film-maker divulges. I prod him to shed light on his other two projects. Although Mehta has always been tight-lipped about his projects, he does shed light on the next two films. The second film [from the trilogy] is based on Jhansi Ki Rani and the third on Bahadur Shah Zafar. Like MANGAL PANDEY, these two projects will also be made in Hindi and English languages simultaneously, he specifies. There's talk that Mehta has signed Aishwarya Rai to enact the title role in JHANSI KI RANI. Incidentally, Aishwarya was supposed to be a part of MANGAL PANDEY, but things didn't work out then. It's true that Ash has been approached for the project, but she hasn't signed the film yet Yes, she's eager to work in the film, but everything is still in the finalization stages, he reveals. The casting of the third project - Bahadur Shah Zafar - is still undecided. But, as of now, Mehta is all set to bounce back after a hiatus with MANGAL PANDEY.