Regional cinema is producing rich stories: Subhash Ghai

Panaji: Hindi cinema`s showman Subhash Ghai is impressed by regional filmmakers who he says are digging deep into their literature, history and mythology to produce captivating stories, even as Bollywood continues to ape the West. The director-producer, who has decided on a year-long sabbatical, is at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here with his Bengali film `Nauka Dubi`. "It is very fascinating to see the young directors in regional cinema making remarkable films. While Bollywood looks towards the west our regional film directors are going back to their literature and history and digging out great stories," he said. `Nauka Dubi`, his first Bengali production opened the Indian Premiere section of the festival last night and Ghai said that the film is a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th centenary. The 65-year-old said that he was planning to release the film in January next year in Bengali and Hindi. Gulzar will write the Hindi lyrics of the movie, which is based on Tagore`s controversial novel on accidental wife swapping in the nineteenth century. "Tagore`s rich world always fascinated me as a child and he has been a part of Indian conscience. Nauka Dubi is our tribute to him. Rituparno and I met and he told me that he was planning to adapt Tagore`s novel and we immediately planned it together," Ghai told reporters on the sidelines of film`s premiere here. The filmmaker said that though the story was based on Tagore`s famous novel, Ghosh has interpreted it in his own way. "In the novel the two wives meet but not in the film. Though it is based on Tagore’s novel, Ghosh has given it a modern interpretation in a period setting," Ghai added. PTI