'The Kerala Story' director Sudipto Sen to helm Subrata Roy biopic; music by Rahman

Mumbai, June 10

Marking the 75th birthday of Subrata Roy, founder and chairman of Sahara India Pariwar, producers Sandeep Singh and Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios), teamed up with 'The Kerala Story' director Sudipto Sen and announced 'Saharasri', a biopic on the business magnate.

'Saharasri' unfolds an engrossing tale of Roy's days as a relatively unknown entity rising to become a prominent, influential and at times controversial businessman (the latter aspect being the subject of one of the episodes of the Netflix series 'Bad Boy Billionaires').

In the words of the press release issued by the makers, "Roy's life story reads like a Sidney Sheldon novel." The makers, however, have not yet revealed who's play the tycoon.

Talking about the man behind the headlines, producer Sandeep Singh, who's also the maker of the upcoming 'Savarkar' and 'Main Atal Hoon', said: "Regardless of what the world may think or say about Shri Subrata Roy, their perception is based solely on their lack of personal acquaintance with the man. Personally, I hold him in the highest regard."

Referring to the charges against his subject, Singh added: "He has remained steadfast like an unyielding rock and gracefully faced all the allegations unlike other Indian business personalities. He is the only Indian who has returned a staggering amount of Rs 25,000 crore, including interest, to SEBI. I am sure justice will prevail soon."

On the work that has gone into the film and the challenges he faced, Singh said: "The script involved intensive years of research and then getting stalwarts like A.R. Rahman and Gulzar on board. Interestingly, whenever I discussed this film, everyone showed enthusiasm but chickened out when it came to being a part of it. They were scared to be associated with it."

Jayantilal Gada, who's better known for putting Telugu cinema on the world map and was one of the presenters of 'RRR', reacted to the announcement saying: "The eponymous scale and the grandeur with which it will be seen on celluloid, will leave the audience spellbound. When I heard the script, absolutely crisp and taut, I had a clear vision of every scene. It kept me on the edge."

Presented by Legend Studios and Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios), 'Saharasri', written by Rishi Virmani, is being produced by Sandeep Singh and Sam Khan. Sudipto Sen will helm it, the music will be by A.R. Rahman and the lyrics by Gulzar.

The film will go on floors early next year and will be shot extensively across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Kolkata and London. It will be released in Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.