John in Deepa Mehta's next
It's official. Bollywood hunk John Abraham who said he wouldn't ever tom-tom his prospects abroad until a project crystallises in Hollywood, has done it. He's all set to play the male lead opposite the Constant Gardner, Constantine and Mummy actress Rachel Weisz in Deepa Mehta's Luna.The deal was finalised just a few days ago. John flew to Cannes last week on Saturday ostensibly to support his film Goal. "I informed John about the Hollywood project with Rachel and he was very excited," said Deepa on Sunday afternoon from Cannes before flying back to her home in Toronto barely 24 hours after she landed in Cannes.
"I had no intentions of coming to Cannes. But my producers decided to announce the project. The real-life inspiration for the female lead is Julia Hill and she also came to Cannes. However, Julia won't be participating in the making of the film," she said.
John will be the first mainstream actor from Bollywood to play a culture-unspecific role opposite a huge Hollywood actress. Said Deepa, "John, who plays an environmentalist in Luna, is not an Indian, nor an American in the film. His culture origins aren't specified. Unlike in Water, in this film, he won't be a man in a dhoti playing the basuri. This makes him Bollywood's first actor to crack the West without playing an NRI or some exotic creature. He has a full-fledged role opposite Rachel."
Two-time Oscar winner David Ward will write the script for the film. Deepa specifies that the film is very eco-friendly. "The true-life inspiration for the film, Julia Hill, just loved John. Her approval was very important. She thought he looked like Antonio Banderas."
posted by nK @ 8:55 PM
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