In Focus

Gulaal set for release

Zee Limelight’s home production Gulaal is slated for release on March 13, 2009. This contemporary film is set in the backdrop of college politics and regionalism. The project is close to director Anurag Kashyap’s heart. It took shape in 2001, when Kashyap was listening to songs from Pyaasa and ‘Paanch’ and was struggling with censors. Inspired by a song from Pyaasa, “Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai”, the film is a dedication to Sahir Ludhianwi, the lyricist of the song and all other poets who had a vision of India.

Gulaal is set in Rajpur a fictional city of Rajasthan, where a member of the erstwhile royal family stakes claim to the land of Rajasthan and wants to go back to the days of royalty. He wants Rajputana back from the Government of India and challenges the very idea of democracy. His heritage backs him, his people too, but the power corrupts him.

Similar to a Shakespearean fable of desire, lost identities, love, greed, violence, murder, deceit, power and innocence, it is a film inspired by poetry; the forgotten male, macho world of power, corruption and greed, where women are just means to an end while nobody can be trusted. It's a film that brings back poetry to cinema, songs that inspire us, shake us; sometimes a thriller, a drama, but poignant, shocking and provocative. It's a film about the conflict created as a modern India tries to break the shackles of its past.

The film stars KK Menon, Aditya Srivastav, Piyush Mishra, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Ayesha Mohan, Abhimanyu Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Pankaj Jha, Mukesh Bhatt and introduces model Jessie Randhawa to the big screen.

The music and lyrics have been given by Piyush Mishra of Ghajini fame and it has been written and directed by Anurag Kashyap.

Gulaal is already being spoken about in trade circles as a must watch film.