Irrfan signs his next international film with Farooki

Irrfan is busy these days preparing for his next international film. The actor has signed on Bangladeshi director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's bilingual international film titled 'No Bed of Roses'. The Bengali title of the film is 'Doob'.
Acting alongside Irrfan in the film will be Nusrat Imroz Tisha. Besides being married to Farooki, Tisha is also the star of Farooki's 'Third Person Singular Number' and 'Television'. Kolkata's very own Parno Mittra is also acting in the film along with Rokeya Prachy of Tareque Masud's 'The Clay Bird' fame.
The film will be produced by Kolkata's Eskay Movies and Bangladesh's Jazz Multimedia. 'Irrfan is on board as a co-producer of the film,' said Himanshu Dhanuka, managing director of Eskay Movies. Earlier on, Irrfan had produced 'Kaash' with Mira Nair that was directed by Ishaan Nair.
Said Irrfan, 'When I saw Mostofa's film 'Ant Story', it immediately got me interested. I was impressed with his approach, style and the way he unravels the story. His work carry a strong humane angle, which is why his characters are multi-layered. I am looking forward to the experience.'
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Death is the central theme of this film. While the loss is overwhelming, death often gives back a lot of things. In this film, members of two families discover love in more ways than one when the headman of the family dies. 'Death isn't the end of everything. It could also mean a beginning in terms of rediscovering inter-personal and intra-personal relationship. Sometimes our physical presence might create a wall which breaks communication. A new phase of communication channel might open up when all physical channel of communications get cut off,' said Farooki from Bangladesh.
Speaking about this project, Dhanuka said, 'We are very serious about doing projects involving the vast repertoire of stars and directors in Bangladesh. In my earlier productions with Jazz Multimedia such as 'Romeo Vs Juliet' and 'Aashiqui', I have cast both stars and music composers from Bangladesh. Even the forthcoming Jeet film that I am doing is also with Jazz Multimedia. I have watched Farooki bhai's films and loved them a lot. When Jazz Multimedia and my company decided to approach Farooki bhai for a film, this script came up.'
During the discussions on the script, it was decided that a 'methodical actor' would be required to pull off the role of the protagonist. 'Farooki bhai told me that the one and only actor he could see doing this role was Irrfan. This was in January. Farooki bhai met Irrfan in Mumbai and when he read the script, he agreed to do it. Dates were adjusted and as things stand now, shooting is expected to be held during March and April mainly at a hillstation in Bangladesh or north Bengal. That apart, we will shoot some portions in Dhaka.'
According to Farooki, 'Tisha is playing a very important role which will help me create the emotional layer strongly.' On being asked how Farooki rates Tisha as an actor, he said, 'She has a wonderful flair for naturalistic performance. She can effortlessly bring life to the role. And she falls in the rare breed of actors who are loved by both mass and the critics.'
As for Parno, the director said, 'I actually auditioned few girls from Kolkata and found Parno fitting well with that character.' But generally, Farooki isn't someone who likes to audition his actors. 'I hate doing auditions like 'do it, go there, look back, smile, cry'!' he said. That kind of puts him off since it reminds him of the traditional patriarchal process of going over to a household to select a bride!
Farooki had watched clippings from Parno's films made by his assistant director. 'Then I auditioned her. And the audition was funny actually. We kept talking. At one point, I knew I needed her,' he said.
Meanwhile, Parno is extremely excited about her first international film. Describing it as a 'step forward', Parno said, 'Besides, the script is amazing and I have such wonderful actors as my co-artistes.' Often stars agree to international projects even if it is blink-and-you-miss roles. But Parno insisted that her character is well-etched in the film. 'I play a young girl. The film is a story about three women and a man and how these women play a big role in the man's life,' she explained.
Parno is looking forward to shooting in Dhaka. 'Irrfan is one of finest actors in the country. I have followed his work since his 'Star Bestsellers' days. It is such a high to be getting this chance to work with a great actor like him,' she signed off.
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