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Producer Ronnie Screwvala and Raazi director Meghna Gulzar are all set to collaborate for a movie.
The two have come together for the biopic on Sam Manekshaw.
It is the story of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw who was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and his military career spanned four decades and five wars.
Meghna said:
“It’s bitter-sweet, moving from one film to the next, but it’s always a pleasure to tell a story that has grabbed your attention instinctively. The life that the Field Martial has lived is vast and rich so it’s quite daunting to be able to do justice to it in two hours on celluloid. Ronnie approached me sometime in 2015 saying that he wanted to work with me and I felt flattered because I look up to his work. We didn’t even have a subject back then but over conversations, the idea of a film on Sam Manekshaw came up. I leapt at the idea.”
She added:
“We are currently in the early stages of writing while research has been on for a year because it’s an exhaustive subject. I only started internalizing the material when Raazi was going into post production. The film requires tremendous prep. One part of the film will be set in the era of the ’71 war which is fairly familiar for me right now (Raazi was set in the 1970s as well) but otherwise it’s a whole new world.”
Meghna Gulzar is also all set to meet Manekshaw’s daughter and grandchildren in the next couple of months.
Producer Ronnie said:
“I have always felt that India lacks role models. When it came to Sam Manekshaw, it’s a story that must be told and it’s not only about him being India’s first and only field marshal or being at the forefront of the wars we fought against Pakistan, but also about it being an inspirational story. I am also related to the Manekshaws from my wife’s (Zarina Mehta) side. Meghna and I were talking about how I loved what she did with Talvar when we got Sam Manekshaw’s story on the table. It took her a few seconds to say that it is what she would like to do after Raazi.”
It will be interesting to see who will be cast of this movie.
Stay tuned for more updates!
