MUMBAI: Filmmaker Anjan Das is set to helm an international project titled Cactus Flower to be made in English and Bengali.
The project will be partially funded and produced by an UK-based production house.
Bengali film actress Chandni Dey who has done films like Rahasya in the recent past has been roped in to play an important role in this project.
Cactus Flower revolves around four generations of women - Durga, Sukanya, Dolly and Sujata - all belonging to the same family. The story takes off with Durga, married to an old man who suffers a paralytic attack on his wedding night. She is being forced to enter into a physical relationship with her brother-in-law. She eventually gives birth to a girl child tentatively named Sukanya.
Sukanya’s child, Dolly, is sent to London and grows up to be a VJ. Dolly has a live-in relationship with two men and in due course becomes a mother to a girl called Sujata. She comes to India to meet her great grandmother and find her roots. She then decides to pursue her education in Kolkata and becomes actively involved with the cause of Adivasis. The story takes a turn when she goes missing. What happens next forms the crux of the film.
Avers Das, “It is interesting to deal with four women who have different perceptions of life. It leaves a lot of room for experimentation.”
Das is looking to rope in actresses like Sharmila Tagore or Waheeda Rehman to play the role of the grandmother. “But things are at a very preliminary stage now,” says the film-maker. “I am planning to have some English actors too for the project.”
