Indian star Irrfan Khan will play the lead role in Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s upcoming bilingual international film Doob (“No Bed of Roses” in English).
The renowned director announced the “big news” through a Facebook post on February 29, Monday.
Sharing a link of the news published on American entertainment trade magazine Variety, Farooki wrote: “Irrfan Khan is working in my next film Doob (English title: No Bed of Roses). Not only he is acting but also he is co-producing the film out of affection.”
“Irrfan Khan is one of my favourite actors. I am grateful to him for loving me,” the post read.
According to the post and Variety, the cast also includes Nusrat Imroz Tisha, star of Farooki’s Third Person Singular Number that was Bangladesh’s entry to the 2011 Oscars and of Television that was Bangladesh’s entry to the 2014 Oscars.
Farooki describes the film as a “family story of loss and regain,” reports Variety.
“Life can be unkind at times, but death is a great equaliser which restores love, honour and compassion. In this story, the members of two families discover the finer fabric of love when the headman of a family dies. Death doesn’t always take things away, sometimes it gives back,” Farooki told Variety. Irrfan Khan, who is revered in Bollywood and Hollywood for films like Lunch box and Jurassic Park, said: “When I saw Mostofa’s film Ant Story, it immediately got me interested. I was impressed with his approach, style and the way he unravels the story. [Farooki’s] works carry a strong humane angle, which is why his characters are multi layered.”
West Bengal Tourism Minister Bratya Basu, who is an accomplished actor and a playwright, will also act out an important role in the film.
Parno Mittra, the actress famous for her film Ranjana Ami R Ashbo Na by Anjan Dutt, and distinguished actors of Bangladesh, Rokeya Prachy and Nader Chowdhury, will also be seen in the film.
Principal photography will start in late March in Bangladesh. The film will be produced by Kolkata’s Eskay Movies and Bangladesh’s Jazz Multimedia. Irrfan is on board as a co-producer of the film while Jaaz will distribute in Bangladesh.
Farooki is one of the proponents of an avant-garde filmmakers’ movement in Bangladesh called Chabial. His 2012 feature Television closed the Busan Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
