Martial move

Kulwinder Sandhu

Advertisement

International award winning Hollywood film Director Param Gill along with his schoolmate Dr Harinder Bobby from Moga is all set to make his presence felt in the Bollywood amid few controversies, with a Hindi film on women empowerment Warrior Savitri, which is slated to hit the theatres from August 25 onwards in the country.

No matter, Shiv Sena and many other radical organisations had protested and burnt the effigies of Param Gill at Mumbai and other parts of the country in the past few days against the release of the film but the censor board has already cleared its release.

A modern day film adaptation of the story of Savitri, Satyavaan and Yamraaj from Mahabharata has irked the radical organisations. The western interpretation of the character of Savitri is denigrating the core concept of an ideal woman worshipped through centuries.

The posters of the film show Savitri sitting backless on the high rise of Las Vegas. The songs released on YouTube depict the main character of Savitri in a sexy avatar. The radicals allege that the lyrics of the songs are in equally bad taste. One song shows Savitri removing her clothes and making love.

Param Gill said that he did not want to hurt the sentiments of any religion or community. “Our aim is to encourage half a billion women of India to take up martial arts for self-defence. The movie rides on this message through ancient fable of Savitri and Satyavan told in the modern world”, he said.

Gill has showcased his versatility by composing the music of the film as well with renowned singers Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shaan and Shalmali Kholgade taking the album on another level. He said the music of the film includes diverse genres like Sufi, classical and western music.

Britain’s successful model Lucy Pinder will make her debut in Bollywood through this film. Gill has directed the film, while Harinder Bobby is the main producer. Param won the best director award for his Hollywood movie Last Supper at the San Francisco Global Movie Festival, last year. He started his film career in the US with Rockin Meera in 2009, which was screened at several film festivals and was acclaimed for its huge canvas.

He followed it up with thriller Hotel Hollywood, which recovered its budget on the first day of its release. The Last Supper was his third film in Hollywood. There are many more films to his credit.

Talking to The Tribune both Gill and Bobby said, “Warrior Savitri has an enviable cast from Hollywood, including supermodel Lucy Pinder. Tim Man, a martial art expert in Hollywood who worked in movies with Jacky Chan, will play a Buddhist monk while Ron Schoenberg will be the main villain. Om Puri is playing the role of Yamraaj in this film”.

The main protagonist, Savitri, is being played by Niharica Raizada, granddaughter of seasonal musician OP Nayyar. She is a black belt in martial arts.

Satyavan’s character is being played by Rajat Barmecha of Udaan fame who recently won the National award for his role in this film.