LIFF: Rakeysh Mehra to launch ‘The Rang De Basanti Screenplay’, ‘Ru Ba Ru’

At the Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF), filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is ready to launch two projects close to his heart — a book, which is a screenplay of his 2006 film “Rang De Basanti”, and “Ru Ba Ru”, a documentary film on the effect and impact of the Aamir Khan-starrer.

The third edition of LIFF is happening in this picturesque region of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We’re in the seventh anniversary of ‘Rang De Basanti’. So, there’s a documentary we made – it’s called ‘Ru Ba Ru’. Bharathi (his wife P.S. Bharathi) directed it. She has taken her time for it as she has written as well.

“The film has a lot of interviews with people from all walks of life – politicians, chief justice of India, students and the kind of movement the RDB effect had,” Mehra told IANS during a chat in the serene surroundings here.

The screenplay of the film has working stills from the movie’s shooting and foreword and afterword by writers Kamlesh Pandey, who wrote the film’s story, and Rensil D’Silva, who penned the screenplay together.

Featuring an ensemble cast of Aamir, R. Madhavan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Atul Kulkarni and Kunal Kapoor, the movie traces the journey of a group of young college-goers to self-awakening.

The film, which has memorable melodies by A.R. Rahman, was chosen as India’s official entry for the foreign language film at the BAFTA as well as Academy Awards.

Mehra, who had the Asian premiere of his “Bollywood – The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” here on day one of LIFF, is upbeat about his new launches.

On the Bollywood front, he is working on “Mirza Sahibaan”, a tragic love story featuring newcomers Harshvardhan Kapoor, son of veteran actor Anil Kapoor; and Saiyami Kher, niece of talented actress Tanvi Azmi and granddaughter of yesteryear’s leading lady Usha Kiran.
Inputs by IANS