New Delhi: Idea-starved Bollywood has rarely let a meaty topic with mass appeal slip. More so, if the subject is current and controversial and at the same time if it involves political overtones and issues like myopic justice.
So when the Jessica case was on the boil and Zeheera was jailed, Bollywood was burning midnight oil scripting and re-scripting new dramas and thrillers. And guess who has lapped it up all! Director Ujjal Chatterjee of Escape from Taliban fame.
Chatterjee has picked on the Jessica case for his film Utthan, which will tell a story of a mass uprising when the law fails to take its logical course.
He also plans to make a film on Zeheera and the Godhra carnage. Koena Mitra has reportedly been offered the lead role and Vivek Oberoi is tipped for the male lead.
The film on Jessica, which will be produced by Kumar Sanu, was earlier supposed to be loosely based on journalist Shivani Bhatnagar’s murder. But the people behind the project changed track after a court acquitted all the accused in the Jessica case and caused outrage across the country.
Chatterjee, however, doesn't agree that the outrage prompted him to make the film. "Rather, this is a story about many Jessicas - Shivani Bhatnagar, Nandini Singh, Madhumita Shukla and others," he claims.
"This is not a biopic. Yes, I have taken many elements from Jessica's life," he says. "I was always intrigued by the Jessica case and thought it was a fertile subject to make a film on."
Neha Dhupia will play the lead role in the film, which stars Akhilendra Mishra and Isha Puri.
There is a twist in the tale though. "In my film, Jessica gets justice and how that happens is the story. She is not shot dead," Chatterjee told a website recently.
Chatterjee denies that his story is a direct pick from the model-murder case, but his film does have a character that may remind many of Manu Sharma, who is accused of killing Jessica. "Priyanshu does look like Manu, but he doesn't shoot Neha. Instead, he is gunned down by her," says Chatterjee.
The filmaker earned fame with his debut film Escape from Taliban(starring Manisha Koirala), which was the first feature-length film to tell a story within the context of Taliban rule.
Chatterjee's film of Zeheera Sheikh will highlight the political pressure on a woman to keep changing her statement with the turn of the tide.
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