"Rang Rasiya finally releases this May"

Filmmaker Ketan Mehta’s long-stalled period drama Rang Rasiya, which has been ready since 2008, is finally set to hit theatres in the last week of May.

Filmmaker Ketan Mehta’s long-stalled period drama Rang Rasiya, which has been ready since 2008, is finally set to hit theatres in the last week of May. “I’m happy that it’s finally releasing. It was an expensive film with a relatively new star cast (when it was made). It is

also based on a controversial subject, so I can see why it has taken its time,” says the relieved director, whose film was mired in controversies due to its bold content and a few topless scenes.

Starring Nandana Sen and Randeep Hooda, the film is based on a novel by Marathi author Ranjit Desai that captures the life of Raja Ravi Verma, one of the greatest Indian artists of all time. “The theme of the film is creative freedom. It has been appreciated globally and finally now India will see it,” says the co-producer of the film, who in the past has made movies like Mirch Masala (1987) and Hero Hiralal (1988) among others.

Meanwhile, Ketan has already begun work on his next. Like his 2005 release — The Rising: Ballad Of Mangal Pandey starring Aamir Khan — this one is also a war film. The Indo-British-French production is called Noor. “It’s the story of an Indian princess, who became a British spy and fought in French Resistance in World War II,” says Ketan, who plans on roping in an international cast for the project. “The script is ready and the film will extensively be shot in Europe. It’s a war film so it will be shot on that scale. It will go on the floors by the end of the year.”