Mahesh Bhatt wants JNU students to approve 'Chandu'

May 3, 2010 IANS

New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wants students of the JawaharLal Nehru University (JNU) to approve the script of his forthcoming venture "Chandu" -- based on slain student leader Chandrashekhar Prasad -- before going ahead with the movie.

"I want all the facts right and don't want to trivialise the script. So, I will approach JNU students to form a cell and check the script before we make the film," Bhatt told IANS.

Chandrashekhar Prasad was a student leader and activist from the JNU who was shot dead in 1997 while addressing a gathering at Siwan in Bihar.

When asked why he decided to explore this subject for a film, Bhatt, the creative consultant for the film, said it is important to talk about the history of India.

"People of India make the history of India. Thus, talking about Chandrashekhar is like talking about the history of the country," he said.

"He was an activist who left a deep impact on the consciousness of people. His murder led to a semi-rebellion of sorts, so I found the subject very interesting and decided to explore it further," he added.

Imran Zaidi, a former Delhi University (DU) student, will make his acting debut in the film as the lead character, while the director and the rest of the cast for the film are yet to be finalised.

The film is slated to go on floor around October this year and is being produced by Dubai-based Irfan Izhar, an alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University.

So why did he choose a newcomer, instead of a known face for the title role?

"I wanted an actor without an image attached. I didn't want a person, who has a larger than life image, so decided on a newcomer," Bhatt said.