Kathmandu: Bollywood actor Rahul Roy, who made a sensational debut in 1990 with the romantic film Aashiqui, and his One Stop Shop (OSS) company are now poised to enter Nepal's film industry with a love story that will also act as the promotional gimmick for the company in the Himalayan republic.
The 43-year-old, who is also executive director of OSS, a corporate group with interests in real estate, technology and Internet marketing, arrived in Kathmandu with the group's CEO Subhash Jewria to announce that OSS Entertainment, the entertainment wing of the company, will make a Nepali film with Rahul playing the lead.
"We are looking for a Nepali director for the project," said Rahul, winner of the popular reality show Bigg Boss. "And we have already begun talks with Nepali musician Rajesh Pariyar who is keen to do the music."
While the script is still being worked on, Rahul says it will be a realistic love story, like Aashiqui, and will have a message for the audience.
"Because of my years in the industry and stature, people look up to me for a message and not just entertainment," he said.
Shooting will start around March-April and Usha Poudel will play Rahul's love interest in the film.
Usha, in her 20s, made a name for herself with Muna Madan, a Nepali film based on a classic and in the past Nepal's entry in the Cannes Film Festival.
The rest of the cast will also be from Nepal and the tickets will be priced at only N Re 1.
"We want to promote the Nepali film industry and OSS in Nepal," Rahul said. "So we were looking for something different from the usual advertisements, posters and banners. Since people here are so fond of films and music and since I am in the film industry myself, I was frequently asked whether I was going to make a film in Nepal. So we decided to do that."
In the past, Rahul has also acted in a Marathi film and learnt the language to do the role.
The upcoming film, however, could also be in Hindi.
Right now, Rahul's focus is to do three films in Bollywood a year.
His latest film, Ada, A Way Of Life directed by Tanvir Ahmed and with AR Rahman as the music director, was slated for release on December 18. But the makers decided to push it to January 2010 to avoid clash with James Cameron's Avatar and Rahul says no one wants to compete with the potential blockbuster.
The other film on the anvil is Mera Bachpan by debutant director Rajiv Sharma that will also star yesteryear's dancing diva Helen.
His nearly two decades in the film industry, Rahul says, has made him wiser.
"I now know which kinds of films not to do. I know in which direction to go," he added.
The director he would like to work most with is Madhur Bhandarkar.
"Bhandarkar makes very realistic films. I like realistic and intense roles. I have a straight face. I am not comfortable with comedy."
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