Book on yesteryear actress Priya Rajvansh to be adapted for screen

Mumbai, April 12

National Award-winning filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar is all set to helm a film based on Subodh Lal's book 'Priya Interrupted' which documents the life of late actress Priya Rajvansh and her filmmaker husband Chetan Anand.

However, the makers have not made any official announcement yet regarding the cast and movie's shoot schedule.

Commenting on the development, Author Subodh Lal says, "Priya and I were very close. She shared a lot of information about herself, her schooling, her years outside India (especially in England) and of course her association with Chetan Anand and his brothers Dev and Vijay. I could see that she really wanted to remain truthfully frank. Most details and episodes in the book are based on these conversations."

"Then, of course, being a frequent visitor to Chetan Anand's house, conversations with the extended Anand family helped. She, of all persons, was much misunderstood, which pained her. Thus, her going away was very painful for me and my wife. Hence the book 'Priya Interrupted'. I feel so good that her story will now reach a wide audience", he adds.

Producer Deepak Mukut's Soham Rockstar Entertainment has acquired the rights of the book.

On collaborating with producer Deepak Mukut, Subodh shares, "I first met Deepak during my term with Zee Telefilms in the early '90s. I was, as Executive President of the company, required to meet a lot of people - including so many from the film world. Among those people was this young man in his twenties - clear headed, correct and persuasive. He made a fine impression on me. To once again work with Deepak after a gap of a quarter of a century is really such a good feeling!"

Deepak, who will be producing the film, said he wanted to acquire the rights of the book because of its "mystery, thrill and suspense element".

Talking about the film, Deepak says, "It's a very unique and untold story of the journey of the yesteryear actress Priya Rajvansh. The mystery and suspense associated with her life really attracted me to make a movie. Also, we wanted to highlight the history and glory of Indian cinema through the veteran and renowned filmmaker Chetan Anand. It's basically a love story of a director and a Hindi film heroine and has shades of romance, mystery, thrill, drama and suspense."

Meanwhile, Deepak has a diverse and busy slate of films under his wings including 'Dhaakad' up for release next featuring Kangana Ranaut in the lead as Agent Agni. Post that, he has 'Forensic' with Vikrant Massey and Radhika Apte.

He also has 'Palatwar' which he had announced in March this year, followed by one of his biggest and most-awaited films 'Apne 2', which will mark the coming together of three generations of the Deol family on screen - Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Karan Deol.