India’s most successful English-language filmmaker, Mira Nair, is widely known for making films such as The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay, among others. Throughout her over four-decade-long career, the director has brilliantly narrated the stories of Indian women and their inner turmoil and conflicts. As she gears up to direct a feature film again after seven years (her last feature directorial was Queen of Katwe, 2016), Nair has locked in a story of an iconoclastic queer woman who lived her life on her own terms.
Peepingmoon.com has learned that Mira Nair is next making a film based on the life of Indian-Hungarian painter Amrita Sher-Gil, described as "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a pioneer in modern Indian art. "Nair had announced this film soon after the premiere of her BBC television drama series A Suitable Boy in 2020. She was supposed to start it in 2021; however, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her plans. She was then occupied with her stage musicals, postponing the film a little further. Now, Nair has officially begun the pre-production on this film and is eyeing to take it to floors in September 2023. She will fully dive into this project after the Monsoon Wedding musical in London this June," an industry source told us.
The biographical drama has tentatively been titled Amri and will star a blend of Indian and Hollywood actors. Although the leading actress to play Amrita Sher-Gil on screen hasn’t been finalized yet, the director has initiated talks with three prominent Bollywood actors to play pivotal roles. Sources have informed us that Nair has approached Naseeruddin Shah, Vicky Kaushal, and Jim Sarbh to play the key roles in this period drama that takes place between Hungary and India between the two world wars. "Naseer Saab is mostly on board as he has worked in Nair’s first film, Monsoon Wedding, and is excited to collaborate with her again after 25 years. Jim Sarbh is also said to have okayed the film; however, Vicky is still contemplating the project. He is keen to work with Nair, and his dates are currently being worked out to accommodate Amri in his calendar," the source further added.
Titled after her nickname, the Amrita Sher-Gil biopic is expected to be as intricate as the artist herself, making the audience both love and question the woman. The film will paint a compelling portrait of the half-Hungarian, half-Indian painter who was famous in the interwar years, then died tragically at the age of 28, leaving behind a body of work that establishes her as one of the foremost artists of the century and an eloquent symbol of the fusion between the East and the West. It will delve into how she led her life with great grace and bravery, scandalizing the staid society of her time with her love affairs and conventional ways. The film will go on floors around September this year and be released in mid-2024.
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