Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 27, 2014)

With his film Bombay Samurai, starring Kareena Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar, now put on the backburner, Dev Benegal has decided to immerse himself in another project. Titled Dead End, the film is being made in collaboration with actor-filmmaker, Satish Kaushik. It is a dark comedy about the life of Lal Bihari, a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, who has to prove that he is alive. Directed by Benegal, the film will have Kaushik on board as producer and actor.

The two are currently attending the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, in a bid to woo investors for the project.

Says Kaushik, “Just days after my two films — Gang of Ghosts and Lakshmi — released, I headed to Hong Kong for my next. Dead End is close to my heart and when Dev developed the screenplay, I knew that there was no looking back.” Incidentally, Kaushik has been planning this project for over a decade and initially, wanted to make it with Anil Kapoor who had shown great interest in the subject.

In Hong Kong, Kaushik and Benegal have a dinner invitation from The Wienstein Company which has produced films like The King’s Speech, Inglorious Basterds and August: Osage County.

Dead End has been selected among the 11 best screenplays at the Asia Film Financing Forum, which is held alongside the film mart in Hong Kong.

Kaushik had the story registered under his banner and then handed it over to Benegal to develop.