Kisna
Vivek Oberoi plays the title role of "Kisna" with two new heroines - Isha Sharvani, a renowned dancer from Kerala, and Antonia Bernath from London - along with famous British actors Michael Maloney, Caroline Lingruish and veteran actress Polly Adams.
A talented team of Indian actors supporting them includes Hrishita Bhatt, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Yash Pal Sharma, Shivaji Sattam, Zarina Wahab and Rajat Kapoor.
This musical love story, set in the backdrop of the adventurous 1940s in India, has two veteran music composers, A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar, and lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The combination is expected to produce a music fiesta that will surpass all past Subhash Ghai films.
"It's purely an Indian film with Indian music, Indian values and Indian emotions with an Indian backdrop for a wider range of audience from masses to classes," says Subhash Ghai.
"This is my effort to reach out to everybody in the cinema hall and provide entertainment with a great story," he adds. "This would be the best script so far in my career."
Shot on sync sound under the direction of Dilip Subramaniam at Ranikhet, the project has impressed its international actors with the standard of content and technique Indian filmmakers are achieving.
"Kisna" will also go to the international market with its two-hour English version while the Hindi version will be a regular three-hour feature film with songs and dances.
A.R. Rahman has recorded a special English number for "Kisna" for the international market, which will be released in the international music market.
Shot on a budget of Rs.250 million ($5.48 million), "Kisna" is being photographed by national award winning cinematographer Ashok Mehta with another national award winner Samir Chanda as production designer and art director.
Tinu Verma is the action director, while Saroj Khan does the choreography for this epic love story expected to be release by the end of this year.
Bernath, who is of British origin, was studying drama at Bristol's Old Vic Theatre School (founded by legendary actor Sir Laurence Olivier in 1946). She opted out of the drama school when her agent asked her to audition for Ghai. She has done small roles on TV like "Holby City" and "The Afternoon Play".