Ishhhh... Rani bani Paro!

It seems Sudhir Mishra wants to make his version of Devdas bigger than that of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s.

It is learnt that the director met Rani Mukerji for Aur Devdas, to be produced by Pritish Nandy Communications.

The film stars Shiney Ahuja as Devdas, while the leading ladies who will play Parvati and Chandramukhi are yet to be finalised.

According to a source, “Rani is keen on working with Sudhir as she has heard a lot about his upcoming film Khoya Khoya Chand from Soha and Saif.

She met Sudhir and Rangita Nandy at her Juhu bungalow for a script narration and liked the role very much. Now, Rani is working on the dates. If things work out, she will be the new Paro.”

Reworked classic

Sudhir’s film is a contemporary adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya’s Devdas, with very little in common with the original novel.
“Rani loved the way Sudhir has etched out the character.

She has seen both Bimal Roy and Bhansali’s Devdas, but she just couldn’t believe the way Mishra had reworked the story,” says the source.

Political twist

Apparently, the director has combined the love story with a political twist. Says the source, “Sudhir has a unique style of narration, and has wonderfully weaved in a plot of politics in the story.

Devdas is the role of a lifetime for any actor and he wants Shiney to play it because he will be able to pull off the complex character with ease.”

Industry pundits opine that Sudhir has merged Devdas with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, making it a rather unique adaptation. Considering that Vishal Bhardwaj’s contemporary interpretations of both Macbeth (Maqbool) and Othello (Omkara) were widely accepted, it is hoped Sudhir’s contemporary version will also get a good audience.

The first schedule of Aur Devdas will begin by August end in Mumbai and will then be shot in certain portions of North India. Mishra was unwilling to talk about the film.