TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

CASHING in on the new trend of powerful women characters in films, two leading ladies from two different genres and vastly different bodies of work, have been signed on to play two special roles in two different projects.

While Madhuri Dixit will be seen as the leader of a gang - a Godmother prototype in Gulab Gang, Bipasha Basu will be seen as the charming seductress in Rohit Roy’s remake of Basu Chatterjee’s 1982 blockbuster Shaukeen.

Gulab Gang, conceptualised by Soumik Sen and Anubhav Sinha had been in the offing for a while now. The story about a gang of women fighting social injustice in the heartland of India, will mark the directorial debut of Sen. Inspired by real life, this film will be released on March 8, International Women’s Day, next year.

When contacted, producer Anubhav Sinha confirmed, “Yes, we have signed Madhuri for the film. She will play the protagonist Gulab. We want to start shooting by the end of the year. After the release of RA One, I was visiting Benaras to finalise the script for my next film, when Soumik came up with this idea. And I immediately gave it a go ahead.” Director Sen is now looking at actors like Mahie Gill and Shilpa Shukla to complete his gang of women in the film. The film will be made under the banner Benaras Media Works. On the Shaukeen remake front, director Rohit had already finalised Rishi Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Boman Irani to play the aging Lotharios portrayed by Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt and AK Hangal in the original. And now, to reprise the role of their object of affection, he has chosen Bipasha Basu.

Rohit explained that his film is not exactly a replica of the 1982 blockbuster. “It has been thirty years since the release of Shaukeen. We had to change tweak the story accordingly. The three sixty-yearold men in my film won’t be lusting for a girl as it was in the original film,” revealed the filmmaker.

“My film is more like a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara meets 1982 Shaukeen. These three men have always gone out for trips, once every five years. This is their last,” he added.