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Tag: Aditya Chopra

  • ‘Mardaani’ tax-free in MP and UP

    ‘Mardaani’ tax-free in MP and UP

    MUMBAI: Rani Mukherji starrer action-drama Mardaani which highlights the problem of child trafficking in the country has been given a tax-free status in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

     

    The Akhilesh Yadav-helmed state government as well as the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government announced they would exempt the film from entertainment tax because of the bold social message conveyed by it.

     

    Talking about the movie the MP Chief Minister tweeted, “Trafficking of young girls and women is worst evil which needs to be eliminated. Mardaani has brought it into focus.”

     

    Praising the movie and Rani for her performance he added, “After a very long time, went along with family to watch a movie. Mardaani turned out to be soul stirring saga highlighting a societal evil. I congratulate Rani Mukherji for a wonderful and powerful performance in Mardaani. Aditya Chopra has done well to produce this movie.”

     

    Honored by the response, Rani and Aditya issued an official statement to the declaration. It said, “Thank you Shri Chouhan Shivraj for your appreciation of Mardaani and its message and deciding to give the film tax free status in MP. Trafficking of girls and women needs to be completely eradicated and we film-makers can only do this much in our limited capacity, but with support from you, others will also hopefully join in to take this cause forward meaningfully.”

     

    The movie, starring Rani as a police officer, released on 22 August is generating impressive critical acclaim. The movie collected approximately Rs 15 crore on its opening weekend.

  • Mardaani…If you say so!

    Mardaani…If you say so!

    MUMBAI: There have been some women cop stories. But not many have succeeded. Vijayashanti’s Tejashwini was one that worked while Dimple Kapadia’s Zakhmi Aurat did not work. Women oriented action films are rare and far in-between because usually they don’t work at the box office. 

    Rani Mukerji is an angry woman cop with the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. She can take on anyone. She is efficient, well-versed with the law and can throw punches like an action-film hero. Hence she is described as Mardaani. To this end, the customary fight scene in the beginning establishes that: she keeps slapping a goon as she lists the penal codes under which he can be arrested. She does not arrest him because that would have added extra length to the film unnecessarily; the idea was only to demonstrate her powers and bravery.

    Rani has rescued a young girl, Priyanka Sharma, who was on verge of being sold.Rani sort of adopts her even though the girl lives at a shelter for such children. In the day time, the girl sells flowers at traffic signals where she is spotted by a woman who adds her to her list of girls to be kidnapped. There is a very organised and clever bunch of people behind the kidnapping of young girls and running a child sex trafficking ring. Rani keeps in touch with Priyanka on regular basis but when she does not see her for few days, Rani suspects she is kidnapped.

    Rani keeps getting lucky with clues through the film and soon picks up the man who sold Priyanka. However, the criminals are a step ahead and shoot the man. He is killed while in the police van with an inspector by his side. Oddly, there is no glass shattered even though the man has been shot in the back of his head. For Rani, Priyanka’s kidnapping has become personal and she chases up after the leads as her mission. All she knows about the villain is his voice as he keeps in touch with her on her cell. He loves this kind of game.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.

    Director: Pradeep Sarkar.

    Cast: Rani Mukerji, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Priyanka Sharma.

    The girls kidnapped are then decked up and paraded before interested clients who prefer sex with small girls. Among them is also a VIP politician. Of course, since such a business needs patronage from high and mighty. The villain, Tahir Raj Bhasin, operates with the help of his father who is the mastermind and also deals in drugs. This is convenient for Rani and she sends two Nigerians as decoys offering to sell 5kg of drugs, something only a big buyer would be interested in. The father-son duo fall for this trap. Bhasin is about to reach where his father is concluding the deal when Rani and her men raid the place. The father is trapped but kills himself while locked in a bathroom rather than be caught as they would make him talk and Bhasin would be caught too. But this father had one bad habit, getting his pants and shirts stitched from a tailor whose labels he never thought of removing.

    Rani traces the villains’ house through the tailor and recces it for a couple of days before she enters it all ready to be caught expecting to be taken where the girls are kept. She succeeds. It is time for some action for taaliyaan.

    Mardaani depends heavily on Rani and this film, having been made for her, avoids any other known face. The villain is new and hardly menacing enough. Without a strong villain, mard or mardaani don’t amount to much. Rani is okay trying to be a real cop mouthing Bambaiya bad words. Bhasin is passable despite having a weak character. Priyanka does well. The film has no songs except a theme song. Direction is average and the making is generally economical. Background score tries to create thrills that don’t exist. Dialogue is routine with no claptrap one-liners.

    Katiyabaaz….. Of another world

    The title does not quite convey what this docu-feature is all about. That’s not surprising, since it is a colloquial word used in Uttar Pradesh to refer to power thieves, the guys who are experts in cutting through heavy duty electric cables to attach illegal connections. This is an all-India phenomena but happens mostly in states with severe power shortages and UP leads on this count. Hence, the events depicted are based in Kanpur, once industrial thriving city now fallen on bad days.

    Producers: Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa

    Directors: Farhad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar.

    Cast: Ritu Maheshwari, Loha Singh and local and national politicians.

    Katiyabaaz juxtaposes two versions of the story: that of a renowned power thief and of the chairperson of the Kanpur Electricity supply board, a lady by the name of Ritu Maheshwari. The politicians playing up the public against the power supply board is inevitable. Politicians fail to build infrastructure and then incite the masses against the board.

    Ritu is the new chief at the Kanpur KESCO, who has sworn to put an end to power stealing to bring some stability to the company. Loha Singh, the celebrated power thief, is not scared of either the KESCO or the police; he is not even scared of shocks having survived many. While Ritu strives to plug all the gaps, Loha thrives in his business of giving people illegal connections for a fee. Ritu has a huge problem on her hands. To make matters worse, some of her own staffers are involved in encouraging thefts, either for money or out of fear. They are no support to her. To top it all the theft causes transformers to catch fire and causes power outages lasting from hours to days. And trying to make the most of the situation is the local SP MLA, Irfan Solanki, who leads a revolt against the power company since the 2012 assembly elections are round the corner. It is BSP rule in the state and SP wants to come back to power. It is typical politics, UP style. It is not just UP politicians: the feature also depicts Dr Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi criticising the functioning of the Kanpur Electric company. Poor Ritu!

    The makers have used all real life characters who were part of these events and covered the versions of Loha Singh, the almost revered power thief aka Katiyabaaz because of whom many small scale industries survive in Kanpur as against the views of Ritu.

    In the end, Ritu is sacked from her post and Irfan Solanki is re-elected as MLA, this time as his party, SP, wins a majority. Loha continues with his business as usual. Loha is a natural facing the camera; he is not scared of power company or the police but he is also not scared of owning up to everything on a camera!

    Katiyabaaz is being released in about 40 screens since it is not a regular entertainer. Yet, it is informative and an eye-opener.

  • Spuul adds action thriller film “Gunday”

    Spuul adds action thriller film “Gunday”

    MUMBAI: What is more fun than to watch your favourite stars at your ease. Spuul, the popular online streaming service for Indian cinema and television, has added Gunday on pay per view basis to their extensive catalogue movies offered via subscription services. The movie would be available for the fans worldwide.

     

    “Gunday” is an action crime thriller film written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra. The film features Ranveer Singh,Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles with Irrfan Khan in a special appearance. Based in Calcutta during its most unsettled times in the ‘70’s, the film deals with the inseparable life of Bikram and Bala, who become gun carriers and coal bandits and eventually the most powerful goons of Calcutta.

     

    Speaking on this development, Prakash Ramchandani, Chief Content Officer, Spuul said, “We have added Gunday within few months of its release to ensure that we provide the latest and the best of Bollywood movies to our subscribers. Every content added on Spuul is to enhance the users overall experience in terms of quality and feel. We are delighted to give access to the recent releases to movie watchers online and we aim to continue the process.”

     

    “A digital distribution platform like Spuul provides us a window to connect with the viewers and also enables them to access our catalogue of films at their convenience.” said Mr. Anand Gurnani, Vice President – Digital, Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd.

     

    The users can also enjoy latest premium and best of Bollywood movies with offline sync. Spuul, standing by its promise of providing new and exciting content recently had a day and date release of Club 60, Jackpot and Aankhon Dekhi earlier. To opt for the premium subscription, users can also pay via carrier billing.

  • YRF’s ‘Gunday’ to release in Dolby Atmos

    YRF’s ‘Gunday’ to release in Dolby Atmos

    MUMBAI: Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) and Yash Raj Films today announced that the much-anticipated movie Gunday will be releasing in Dolby® Atmos™—the latest in cinema sound technology. Dolby Atmos unleashes the potential of sound in storytelling by giving filmmakers the creative freedom to easily place or move sounds anywhere in the movie theatre to create a lifelike cinema sound experience. Gunday will be released across theatres in India and worldwide on February 14, 2014, by Yash Raj Films (YRF).

    Gunday, a Hindi action movie is written & directed by Ali Abbas Zaffar and produced by Aditya Chopra. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Ranveer Singh & Arjun Kapoor, as Bikram and Bala, along with Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan, in lead roles. Set during the most turbulent times in the history of Calcutta, from 1971 to 1988, the story revolves around Bikram and Bala, who rose from being small time wagon breakers and coal thieves to becoming the biggest and most powerful black market mafia-men. As their notoriety became the stuff of legends, the people of this sprawling city started calling these two carefree and inseparable rebels as Gunday.

    “I have always strived to make breakthroughs in my movies, from storytelling to production,” said Ali Abbas Zafar, director of Gunday. “Dolby Atmos is a wonderful tool that enables us to do just that. It allows us to present an even more realistic story with an amazing audio experience that not only excites the ears but also touches the heart. He further added, “We are really looking forward to the release of Gunday in Dolby Atmos, which will transport the audiences to the onscreen action of the movie presenting them with a more realistic entertainment experience.”

    Gunday has been natively mixed in Dolby Atmos by rerecording sound mixer Anuj Mathur at YRF Studios. Dilip Subramaniam is the movie’s sound designer. Mixing in Dolby Atmos can simplify workflows because a native Dolby Atmos mix can be used to create 5.1- and 7.1-channel surround sound versions.

    Commenting on the announcement, Pankaj Kedia, Country Manager, Dolby Laboratories India, said, “Dolby Atmos brings a natural lifelike audio experience to movie theatres, giving filmmakers the creative freedom to place and move sounds anywhere in the auditorium, including overhead, for added realism and impact. With Gunday in Dolby Atmos, moviegoers will get to be a part of the most realistic cinematic experience amplifying each action sequence, emotion, and music of the movie. As we move forward, we are committed to offering the Indian audiences the best cinematic experience.”

     

  • Aamir vs Aamir

    Aamir vs Aamir

    MUMBAI: Dhoom 3 proves to be a good sequel, for once. Unlike many films that simply use the name and brand, it actually carries on the characters from previous movies. Once again, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, two Mumbai cops are chasing after a villain, this time as a team sent to Chicago Police to solve a case of bank robberies. The reason being that the thief leaves a message in Hindi and it is assumed that he has to be an Indian.

    Dhoom 3 starts off by setting a tempo for the fast-paced thriller that it promises to be with Uday and Abhishek demonstrating their fighting instincts and coordination as they take on a local basti don in Mumbai. As the action moves to Chicago, it is Aamir’s turn to show his mastery with his bike. In fact, Aamir’s arsenal of gears and gadgets would give James Bond a complex!

    Aamir’s story dates back 25 years to when his father, Jackie Shroff, ran The Great Indian Circus in Chicago. The circus had not been doing too well and the local bank owner threatened to attach the circus if Shroff didn’t not manage to pay off his dues within five days; Shroff devised a new circus act which he was sure would revive his circus and pleads for a little more time. When refused, Shroff kills himself. Aamir is now grown up and ready to take revenge for his father’s death, which he calls murder. His plan is to ruin the bank, force its closure. He robs the bank’s branches one after the other. His style is that when he robs a bank, he throws a part of his loot on streets outside the bank and watches people pounce on this rain of dollars. The bank is losing reputation as well as standing in the stock market.

    What makes these heists exciting is their aftermath as Aamir charts his escape in a long chase by the police with his multipurpose bike. In fact, he is techno savvy and all his robberies and escapes are executed with the help of many gadgets. It is time to get Abhishek and Uday in on the scene. It is also the time for Aamir to revive The Great Indian Circus and to get the glamour quotient on the scene. Katrina Kaif is trying to get a break into the circus but dressed like a geek, she does not impress Aamir’s assistant who keeps rejecting her. Aamir agrees to give her five minutes to prove her talent and sees a geek turn out to be a glamour doll.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.
    Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya.
    Cast: : Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Jackie Shroff.

    Having opened up the other side of the story, that of the circus and its background, it is time to spring a surprise on the viewer; there are two Aamirs. The other one is always in the background because he suffers from autism, due to which faces communication problems and has strange mannerisms. That is the circus’s secret behind their most famous trick where Aamir enters a wooden box on stage but emerges from some other corner of the hall. (This seems lifted straight from The Prestige, which tells a similar story about a magician.)

    As Abhishek and Uday try to solve the jigsaw puzzle, they spy on Aamir and follow the closet Aamir on his once a week Sunday outing. Abhishek makes sure he drives a rift between the brothers. Sadly, these plots make Abhishek look more like a villain than a supporting actor! These manoeuvres also make the proceedings very slow and insipid especially after the racy first half had set the pace. As the Aamir brothers embark on the last leg of their ‘destroy the bank’ operation, there is one more chase before the film ends by springing another surprise.

    Being third in the Dhoom trilogy, some may make comparisons and feel that story/script wise D2 was better; however, this film is much more ambitious, lavishly shot and full of special effects. It has good music that is very well choreographed and the film is a visual delight. With other characters being insignificant, the film is Aamir vs Aamir talent showcase as he gets to juxtapose two totally different characters in the same frame most of the time. He is simply amazing. Katrina Kaif is the other character who gets some importance in this film and she does very well while also excelling in dance numbers. Abhishek gets no scope while Uday is the joker in the pack. Direction is competent and handling of double roles is apt. Technically the film is very good.

    Dhoom 3 is set to shatter collection records and create some of its own new records. Expectations were high from the trade and especially the exhibitors and it will live up to them.

  • Shuddh Desi boy to now play lead in YRF & Shekhar Kapur‘s ‘Paani’

    Shuddh Desi boy to now play lead in YRF & Shekhar Kapur‘s ‘Paani’

    MUMBAI: The hunt for the male lead in Paani is over! Close on the heels of his outstanding performance in Shuddh Desi Romance, both Shekhar Kapur and Aditya Chopra had no hesitation in confirming Sushant Singh Rajput to play the lead in their upcoming flick Paani.

    According to Kapur, Sushant is one of the most inspiring young actors to emerge out of India. “It‘s going to be exciting director-actor collaboration with him in Paani.” The film is based in a future world where war over water has broken out. Water is now owned by international corporations who use thirst as a weapon of control. In one such future city, a young love story breaks all the rules and in the ensuing war, water flows back to its people.

    The film will have a strong Indian and western star cast. Sushant will be joined by a young leading actress from the west.

    The film, produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Shekhar Kapur, will be shot in India and overseas. Music will be by A. R. Rahman.

    Paani goes on floor mid-2014.

  • Shuddh Desi boy to now play lead in YRF & Shekhar Kapur’s Paani

    Shuddh Desi boy to now play lead in YRF & Shekhar Kapur’s Paani

    The hunt for the male lead in Paani is over! Close on the heels of his outstanding performance in Shuddh Desi Romance, both Shekhar Kapur and Aditya Chopra had no hesitation in confirming Sushant Singh Rajput to play the lead in their upcoming flick Paani.

     

    According to Kapur, Sushant is one of the most inspiring young actors to emerge out of India. “It’s going to be exciting director-actor collaboration with him in Paani.”

    The film is based in a future world where war over water has broken out. Water is now owned by international corporations who use thirst as a weapon of control. In one such future city, a young love story breaks all the rules and in the ensuing war, water flows back to its people.

     

    The film will have a strong Indian and western star cast. Sushant will be joined by a young leading actress from the west.

     

    The film, produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Shekhar Kapur, will be shot in India and overseas. Music will be by A. R. Rahman.
    Paani goes on floor mid-2014.

  • Shuddh Desi Romance: A confused love story

    Shuddh Desi Romance: A confused love story

    Shuddh Desi Romance in its theme is quite contrary to its title. There is nothing shuddh or desi about it. The film is more about current generation of urban youth who believe in relationships and live-in partners but no commitment as in a marriage.

     

    Producers: Aditya Chopra.

    Direction: Maneesh Sharma.

    Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Vaani Kapoor (Debut).

     

    Sushant Singh Rajput is on his way to tie the knot. His baraat reaches the town and place of his bride to be, Vaani Kapoor. The mood is joyous; guests in all their fineries are present. An elder or whatever one may call him from Rajput’s side is Rishi Kapoor, a wedding caterer who also fixes up fake baraatis. In fact, he does just about everything related to the event of a wedding. It is time for the final commitment as the groom and bride come face to face to garland each other. That is when Rajput gets cold feet and on the pretext of going to the loo, he vanishes. The bride to be orders a cold drink to get over the shock.

     

    In a way, the one responsible for Rajput’s decision was Parineeti Chopra who was part of his baraat and occupying a seat next to his in the baraat bus. He is attracted to her, instinctively kisses her and also learns to smoke from her. He is impressed by her way of life. She lives alone in Jaipur, pursues her studies and also teaches English at a ‘Speak English’ kind of class. She also joins Rishi Kapoor’s gang of fake baraatis to earn some extra cash. Both start dating and soon Rajput moves in with her.

     

    The duo’s life is full of fun, romance and sex and on one night under the influence of alcohol, they decide to marry. Rishi Kapoor makes the arrangements and it is time to exchange garlands. But, this time, it is Parineeti who suddenly wants to visit the loo. Rajput has been paid in his own coin as the bride takes the same route as he did earlier.

     

    Rajput is not destined to stay without a woman. The girl he deserted, Vaani, has shifted to Jaipur after he ditched her. As Rishi Kapoor lures Rajput into playing a fake baarati in one more wedding, Vaani is boarding the same bus headed for wedding venue for she is a cousin of the groom. She decides to make friendship with him with the idea of taking revenge for what he had done to her.  In the process she falls for Rajput who has quickly forgotten Parineeti and is now in love with Vaani.

     

    Life is beautiful for the couple when, in this film with baraats and weddings as background, there is one more wedding to attend for Rajput and Vaani. As expected, Parineeti is there too. The host at the wedding creates a situation whereby both get to be together for some time. Both realise they are still in love. But Rajput is now in a moral quandary: Vaani has been so nice to him and so much in love with him, he does not want to betray her.

     

    In a film where women are depicted as more surefooted and of strong will, the problem solves itself thanks to one of the two women in love. Rajput and Parineeti decide to give getting married another try and again Rishi Kapoor does the needful. He is very worried about the future of his business. If men and women stay together without marriage, that would ruin his business. Who runs to the loo this time? Well, the film advocates live-in relationships and that is how things settle.

     

    The film has just four main characters in Rishi Kapoor, Rajput, Parineeti and Vaani in a shorter role compared to others. Rishi Kapoor plays one more different character with his usual aplomb. Rajput plays the uncertain youth living life on day-to-day basis and vulnerable to romance with ease. Parineeti is impressive and adds to her reputation as a confident performer. Vaani has a pleasant demeanour and smiles her way through a brief but a relevant role very well.

     

    Direction is good keeping an easy pace and generally keeping a pleasant atmosphere in the film. However, some trimming could have helped. The film has a couple of peppy numbers. Shot at some populated town locations and some scenic Rajasthan outdoors, it makes for pleasant viewing.

     

    Shuddh Desi Romance aims at contemporary youth as a lot many identify with the theme. Having opened well at both, single screens as well as multiplexes, this economically produced, digitally-released (no physical prints) film is sure to reap reasonably rich dividends.

     

    Zanjeer: A complete mockery of a classic

    Producers: Reliance Entertainment, Puneet Prakash Mehra, Sumeet Prakash Mehra.

    Direction: : Apoorva Lakhia.

    Cast: Ramcharan, Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj.

     

    While budgets have gone up to multi-crores, content has dried up. At their peak, Salim-Javed assured an interesting script though all the films they wrote could not become Zanjeer, Deewaar or Trishul. They got equal billing in the titles and made writers respectable in the industry. There were half a dozen other writers who were household names. Today, one can’t think of any script writer whose film people look forward to. Once in a while, one comes across a writer’s triumph in films like Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Vicky Donor or Oh My God! But, usually these turn out to be one-off affairs. The result is either remakes of South film, sequels or remakes of old hits. Agreed, one can’t better an old classic but can’t one refrain from slaughtering it?

     

    Ramcharan is a police officer in Hyderabad who does not believe in going by the rule book and believes in instant solutions. To showcase that, the film starts with Ramcharan bashing up a political protester who had blocked all the traffic on a main road for a couple of hours. This earns him his 17th transfer and he is despatched to Mumbai where he is welcomed by the commissioner of police with a warning to hold back his anger. So far so good, here onwards starts the piecemeal destruction of the original.

     

    A district collector on his way home with a toy for his little son happens to see fuel adulteration activities happening openly. He decides to click pictures with his cell phone as a proof. The goons notice him and burn him to death. Priyanka Chopra watches the incident and calls up the police. Chopra is an NRI from the US and is in town for a couple of days only to attend the wedding of her Facebook friend. She is asked to identify the dead body which she does and decides to return to the US. On the way to the airport, her vehicle is smashed by a truck with the purpose of killing her. Why should that be done when she is going back for good? In any case, the car she was in is burnt along with her money and passport. Ram Charan offers her shelter at his home.

     

    As if some button was clicked, Priyanka instantly falls in love with Ramcharan. He has a past which haunts him in his sleep. He dreams of a huge knife-wielding horse rider in a hood with a tattoo on his forearm. Also, his parents were murdered when they come out of a restaurant after celebrating his eighth birthday. Brought up by his policeman uncle, he also joins the force when he is grown up.

     

    There is no secret about who the culprit is behind the oil mafia who, obviously, turns out to be the killer behind his parents’ death. Meanwhile, Ram Charan is suspended from the force for killing a criminal in his custody with third degree torture. He is now free to go after the villain, Prakash Raj, as he does not have to follow the limitations of a policeman. There are a couple of one-upmanship scenes after which the inevitable climax fight follows as the villain is meted out a suitable death.

     

    Zanjeer is a totally botched up script and the stars also join the director to make a total mess of it. Ramcharan is good in action scenes but otherwise acts like any filmy cop, showing no passion or pain as he carries the burden of his parents’ death and the mystery man riding a horse. Priyanka puts on a juvenile act; what was she trying, playing a cute moppet? Prakash Raj plays his usual comic villain. So much so that without titles or co-stars in the frame it could be any of his films one is watching. Music is in overdose with just the first half having as many as six songs. Editing needed to be taut.

     

    Zanjeer fares poorly if compared to the original 1973 Zanjeer, this version is a sacrilege.

  • Satyajit Ray’s Goopy and Bagha in animation at Toronto Filmfest

    Satyajit Ray’s Goopy and Bagha in animation at Toronto Filmfest

    NEW DELHI: The animation film The World of Ghoopi and Bagha by Shilpa Ranade is being screened in the 39th Toronto International Film Festival’s Kids section.

     

    The film is based on Satyajit Ray’s live action 1969 Bengali language children’s musical ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’. The original was based on a story told by Ray’s grandfather. The animation film has been made for the Children’s Film Society, India.

     

    Indian romantic comedy Shuddh Desi Romance directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra will also see its premiere at the Festival being held 5 to 15 September which will also have Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox.

     

    Ranade’s film has been announced in the update list of more than a dozen films from Asia in various sections announced now, doubling the size of this year’s Asian selection.

  • Pradeep Sarkar to helm YRF’s next Mardaani

    Pradeep Sarkar to helm YRF’s next Mardaani

    MUMBAI: After directing Laaga Chunari Mein Daag for Yash Raj Films in 2007 and Lafanggey Parindey in 2010, Pradeep Sarkar is back with the production house all set to helm Mardaani.

    Starring Rani Mukerji in the lead, who will play the role of a cop for the first time, the raw and gritty film will be YRF‘s boldest subject ever to be made and is a distinct departure from Sarkar‘s style of filmmaking.

    Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film will go on floors by the last quarter of the year and is slated for a 2014 release worldwide.

    In 2005, Sarkar made his directorial debut with the Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan-starrer Parineeta which earned him the national film award for best direction.