Showing posts with label Asif Ali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asif Ali. Show all posts
Resul Pookutty's directorial debut will be a coming-of-age drama on runaway children
8:17 AM
Sharanya C R (BOMBAY TIMES; April 24, 2022)
Academy Award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty recently announced his directorial debut Otta, a Malayalam film that will star Asif Ali, Sathyaraj, and Arjun Ashokan in lead roles. The life of social worker and author S Hariharan is the inspiration for this film, says Resul, and adds, “but this is not a biopic. It is inspired by true events that took place in his life.”
Resul says that he met Hariharan at a function, and after hearing the author’s life story, which was also captured in the book Runaway Children, Resul felt there was a film waiting to happen. He says, “Hariharan ran away from home at three different stages in his life. He is from an affluent family and I couldn’t see any plausible reason for him to have done that. When I prodded him to tell me more, he said he was looking for freedom. The longest he was away was when he came to Chennai. Here, he met an older guy named Raju, who treated Hariharan like a brother. They were supposed to start a business, but things changed when his parents found him and took him back home. Later, he finished his education and became a multimillionaire. Many years later, he came across children who had also run away from their homes and he began rescuing these kids. Till date, he has rescued nearly 27,000 children. My film is the story of this man.”
Resul was curious to know if Hariharan ever got in touch with Raju again. “He told me he hasn’t met him since. And that’s where I felt there was a story. My story follows the journey of a boy who finds this friend who changed his life. It is also about children who have troubled relationships with their parents. These parents are busy building a home, but are they creating an environment where the children want to return to one day? Many successful people feel lonely at some stage. So, this film will be a coming-of-age drama, where I show the different stages in the life of a boy who’s a loner. That is why I have titled it Otta (which means loner in Malayalam).”
AsifAli plays the role of Hari and Resul is introducing Jalaja’s daughter Devi as the female lead. Actresses Shobana, Rohini, and Divya Dutta are also part of the film. “Hari’s character is shown in a positive light, but then, there is his alter ego, a character with dark shades, and there is Raju’s character as well,” says Resul.
The sound designer-turned-director says he worked on the script during the pandemic. Kiran Prabhakar wrote the film along with him. “I’ve always felt the urge to write a film. I have worked with several top-notch directors and have a grip on filmmaking as a craft. I put aside two Hindi films and a British film to make this dream a reality,” says Resul.
The team will begin shooting on April 25 in Kochi, after which the film will be shot in Chennai, Mumbai and Dubai. “We plan to wrap up the film by the end of the year and plan to send it to festivals like Cannes as the story has an international sensibility,” informs Resul.
Mushtaq Shiekh told me to sleep with him to keep my job-Rahul Raj Singh
8:51 AM
Television actor files complaint saying screen writer Mushtaq Shiekh molested him on several occasions, promising him roles in return
Faizan Khan (MID-DAY; October 20, 2018)
After helping scores of women to call out sexual predators, the #MeToo movement has now given courage to the first male survivor to speak out against sexual harassment in the film and television industry. Actor Rahul Raj Singh has accused screenwriter and producer Mushtaq Shiekh of making repeated sexual advances towards him, and eventually ruining his career upon being rejected.
Rahul was last in the news when he was arrested on charges of abetting the suicide of his actor girlfriend, Pratyusha Banerjee (of the Balika Vadhu fame), amid allegations that he had been an abusive partner. He is currently out on bail. “I have been an actor for the past 10 years, and have now been inspired by the women in our acting, film and TV fraternity to come out with my story of harassment by Mushtaq Shiekh,” he told the media.
Rahul met Mushtaq sometime in 2006, he said, when he was a model looking to break into acting. “I was the Grasim Mr India model in 2004, when I was 19 years old. A couple of years later, I came in contact with Mushtaq Shiekh. Mushtaq was a very powerful person in Bollywood then. [He was] someone who was on first name basis with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Farah Khan and Ekta Kapoor. He seemed to be impressed with me. I was glad because I realised I would get work,” he recalled.
“He told me, ‘I have thought about you for one project and want to cast you in it. Meet me after office hours and we will discuss the project’. I did not want to judge him on his sexual preferences, but after the second and third meeting, he started calling me late at night, around 3 or 4 am,” said Rahul.
Each time he lost his job
He added that initially he would take the calls because he was a newcomer in need of a godfather in the industry. “He was associated with Mukta Arts at the time, and he showed me a Korean film which he said he would remake in Bollywood, casting me. But one night, he called me at 11 pm near his house. I had already been introduced to his sister Najma and his other married sister. He took me to his house, which had a single room, a bed and a lot of film posters. He told me, ‘I am going to do something to you which you are going to enjoy. It will be different, but you will like it’. I got scared,” Rahul recounted.
He added, “I told him, ‘I know your family. I am not against your preferences, but I am your friend and every relationship is not about sex’. He said, ‘Don’t worry, next time you will be ready’. I left, and lost the film at Mukta Arts.”
Mushtaq came back to haunt Rahul when he turned to television work. “I was chosen for a TV serial called Amber Dhara. I was popular as the first blind hero on national television. Then I got a call from Mushtaq, telling me that he was the one who had chosen me for the role. That destroyed my confidence and self-belief. Then I was signed up for another show called Mata Ki Chowki [also associated with Mushtaq]. He extended his offer again, that I could sleep with him to keep my job, but I refused. My character was written out of the show soon,” said Rahul.
‘He grabbed my head’
He added, “During another show called Ganesh Leela, Mushtaq’s roving eye caught me again. He told me to meet him at night for a drive. We were on a drive in Aarey Milk Colony when he suddenly grabbed my head [towards him] and started unbuttoning me [Rahul’s clothes]. I got very angry and upset, and told him that I would stop the car and leave him in the middle of the jungle.”
“I used to earn around Rs 3-4 lakh per month in those days. I owe answers to my friends and fans as to why I quit TV. It was because of Mushtaq Shiekh. I told my parents the same thing 10 years ago: I can’t do this, because I will be forced to sleep with someone,” said the Amber Dhara actor, adding, “I told my mother that I wanted to tell the world my story now. I had been reluctant earlier because my male friends told me, ‘Tu mard hain, aise kaise bol sakta hai’. My mother told me that a real man tells the truth and faces the consequences.”
Producer friend says
He said his friend and former roommate Asif Ali, now a film producer, had witnessed his trauma over the years. mid-day reached out to Asif, who said, “When we were roommates, I asked Rahul why he wasn’t getting good projects. He told me about the harassment and demands for sexual favours. I read a few of their chats, but I don’t remember their [culprit’s] names.” Despite repeated attempts to contact Mushtaq, he did not respond to mid-day’s queries.
Complaint to follow Rahul claimed that he has already notified Javed Akhtar — Film Writers Association committee member and writer-lyricist — about the abuse via WhatsApp, and will follow it up with a written complaint to the organisation.
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