Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2015)

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; September 29, 2014)

Kalpana Lajmi has apparently approached Nawazuddin Siddiqui to play music legend Bhupen Hazarika. Sources say that the actor and director have already had a few meetings.

The actor is said to be currently reading the script while Kalpana Lajmi is working on the film’s screenplay. It may be also pointed out that there have been reports about Pooja Bhatt playing Lajmi in the film. But Lajmi, when contacted, denied signing on Pooja. “We have finalised Sharbani Mukherjee as the actress and she will be playing my character whereas I have approached Nawazuddin Siddiqui to play Bhupen Da,” she said.

Lajmi reiterated that she holds the film’s story very close to her heart. “I needed someone who would understand the nuances of the story. I have met Nawazuddin a few times regarding the project and I think he will do justice to the role. I am waiting for a nod from him. I have already finalised Sharbani,” she added.
The film will be shot in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Assam and New York. “ In New York, Bhupenda met Paul Leroy Robeson, who inspired him to write songs that celebrate life. A major portion of the film will also be shot there,” Lajmi said.

She also revealed that they will remaster Bhupenda’s songs for the film. “For the background score, I want to rope in Debajyoti Mishra,” said Lajmi, who admitted that she was inspired to make this film after close friends Soni Razdan and Mahesh Bhatt persuaded her to sit down and pen the legendary’s musician’s story.
Nawazuddin was unavailable for comment.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 9, 2014)

Ruman Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; April 13, 2014)

She was 17 and he was 45 when they first met. And now, over four decades after she got to know Bhupen Hazarika, Kalpana Lajmi is ready to make a film on the departed legend. The buzz is that Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee will star as Hazarika.

The film, a trilingual project, has been tentatively titled The Tempest in English, Kal Boishakhi in Bengali and Dhumuha in Assamese. “Yes, Prosenjit is playing Bhupen Hazarika. Tell me, who better than him to bring alive Bhupenda’s dynamic character on screen? In fact, it was a mutual decision he and I took after he heard I was making this biopic. Bhupenda was a very romantic man and only Prosenjit can bring that alive. As of now I don’t know who will play my character, preferably someone from western India,” said Lajmi, Hazarika’s companion for over 40 years. The Assamese maestro, remembered for his score in films like Rudaali, passed away in November 5, 2011.

Lajmi says the film will be a biopic seen through the prism of her relationship with Hazarika. “For the whole of 2013, we were busy jotting down my memories. The final script will be readied now,” informed Kalpana.

Prosenjit is happy that Lajmi has considered him for the coveted role. “It is a huge honour. Whatever time I get, I read up on the master," he smiled.

The film will be shot in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Assam and New York. With Santosh Sivan as the DoP, the film is slated to go on the floors in the second half of the year.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 5, 2014)

Kalpana Lajmi is hoping that her biopic on Bhupen Hazarika will roll post monsoon. “After a year, the written material is finally ready. Now, we need to shape it into an interesting screenplay which should take another couple of months. Mahesh Bhatt has agreed to doctor the final script and once we are both satisfied, I’ll start on the casting,” says the writer-director, admitting that it will be difficult to find an actor who looks, walks and speaks like Bhupenda.

She doesn’t believe she can get one who can sing like him because his voice can’t be replicated. So she is planning to use his original songs in the film. “I’ll go through his repertoire and pick the songs that were milestones in his journey and mine, and approach the music companies for the rights. Whoever the actor is, can lip sync the songs. We can also use a few in the background,” she says.

Kalpana admits that it’ll be difficult condensing his life into a two-hour-10-minute film. “The idea is to bring out the integrity of the artiste who chose to live in poverty because of his passion for the arts. And whose lifelong contributions were acknowledged by naming a float after him in the Republic Day parade,” she says.

Interestingly, Kalpana is planning it as a Hindi-Bengali bilingual. “Dada’s whole life centred on Bengal and a huge part of 40-year relationship was set there. Kolkata will be the backdrop for my story, moving to Assam only in the last couple of years,” she says.