For his new film Satyagraha (which means literally zeal for truth and refers to a non-violent, gandhi-esque type of resistence), Prakash Jha isn’t only constructing a whole filmi city in Bhopal, where he has rented a couple of acres for the whole duration of the shoot, he also gives extensive workshops to locals, who will be acting in his film. The use of local actors always conveys the feel of authenticity to his movies, a raw energy that permeates every facet of his films.
He has roped in some mega stars as his protagonists in Satyagraha: Amitabh Bachchan (who had starred in Jha’s Aarakshan) , Ajay Devgan (Apaharan, Rajneeti) , Kareena Kapoor, and Arjun Rampal (Rajneeti, Chakravyuh)
Zeal for truth, this could be Prakash Jha’s red thread common to all his socio-politically charged movies. Sometimes I wonder why men like him aren’t in government positions, then again, not everyone wants to swim with sharks).
The stars of Chakravyuh: Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Pajpai, Esha Gupta and its director, Prakash Jha, who is so hot, he should be starring in his own films! salt’n pepper hot… but hey! mighty sexy, don’t you think?! :-)
Prakash Jha is one of my favorite Indian filmmakers, and I am happy to see that his new movie Chakravyuh starring Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol and Om Puri will be presented at the Gold Coast International Film Festival in Manhasset, Long Island, Oct 27th at 1pm . It will be the only Indian film showing this year. So, if you live in the area and love Indian films don’t miss this chance!
Prakash Jha is technically considered a Bollywood filmmaker, but since Bollywood movies are often viewed, in the West particularly, as entertainment that’s laced with song and dance, his movies are content-driven and don’t fit the masala Bollywood mold. He is political. socio-critical. I haven’t seen all of his films, but the ones I watched were phenomenal.
Straight from the headlines about India’s outlawed Naxalites, comes this Bollywood action epic about Kabir who goes undercover for his friend, the head of the local police, and infiltrates the ranks of the left-wing revolutionaries. But Kabir falls in love with one of the ultra-violent leaders, a beautiful woman called Juhi. His allegiance begins to change as he gets new insight into the relations between the poor local villagers and the local land-grabbers. Prakash Jha’s characteristically balanced handling of controversial topics, the strong characters, and the robust script and sharply executed action sequences make for a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Dirctor Bio
Prakash Jha is a multiple award-winning independent filmmaker from India, has produced and directed sixteen feature films, over. Known for his films with a political themes about contemporary India, including Apaharan, Damul, Rajneeti. His latest film Chakravyuh premiered at the 2012 London International film Festival. He is based in Mumbai but is involved in development and health projects among the more disadvantaged in his native state of Bihar.
Check out Jha’s impressive filmography at Imdb.com: nm0422552
This is good news. I’ve just re-watched a whole batch of old Akki movies and I am in the mood for more. Prakash Jha is all about political cinema, though, and that will put sex appeal on the backburner… even if that seems quite impossible when you talk about Akki. :-) It will be a good change, on the other hand, since Akshay’s last few movies were a bit silly and didn’t do him justice. It’s time to hit the screen with a big caliber. Prakash Jha is just the right man for that.
Akshay Kumar bags Jiiva’s role
(Akshay Kumar bags Jiiva’s role)
The buzz is that Bollywood hunk Akshay Kumar has been roped in to play the lead role in the Hindi remake of K V Anand’s Ko.
The remake, reportedly titled Sathyagraha, is being directed by Prakash Jha, who is known for films with socio-political themes. Says a source close to the development, “Akshay has signed on Jha’s film. He will be playing the role essayed by Jiiva in the original. The unit is now trying to get the dates of top stars for the other crucial characters.”
We hear that the makers are keen to make the project a true multi-starrer and are thinking of casting only major Bollywood stars for it. “That is why even an actor like Prakash Raj, who was in the original, is not being considered for this film. Instead, they are trying for Nana Patekar, who is being pencilled in to play either Prakash Raj’s or Kota Sreenivasa Rao’s character in the original,” adds the source.
And it seems that Katrina (who worked with Jha on Rajneeti) or Kareena could play the leading lady that was essayed by Karthika in the original.
thebollywoodaddict 