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Shillong, Jan. 22: Bollywood is finally back in the Northeast. But this time the crew from Mumbai will also include artistes and technicians from the region.
Cat N Mouse Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai (makers of Michael with Naseeruddin Shah) in collaboration with Kurbah Film are about to wrap up a monthlong shoot of a horror thriller, The Maya Tape, directed by Nikhil Allug. The film is slated for an all-India release this autumn.
This venture is “historic” as for the first time noted artistes of the Northeast (from Assam and Meghalaya) will feature alongside Bollywood actors. The film has been mostly shot at Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio, Guwahati, and in parts of Shillong.
The Maya Tape features Vishakha Singh (of Humsey Hai Jahaan, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey), Nawazzuddin Siddiqui (of Munna Bhai MBBS, Black Friday, New York, Peepli Live ), Satyakam Anand (of Gangs of Wasseypur), Kali Prasad Mukherjee (of Agyaat, A Wednesday) and Shridhar Watsar (of Michael and popular serial Krishnaben Khakrawala) among others.
Artistes from the Northeast include Anup Hazarika, Angoorlata, Ranjeev Baruah, Rajesh Bhuyan, Chinmay Chakraborty, Achinta Shankar, Enshon Lamare (of Ka Mon Bajwat) and Merlvin Mukhim (of Hep, Dei Maphi).
Technicians in the film include director of photography Vijay Mishra from Mumbai and art director Jyoti Shankar Bhattacharya from Assam.
The film, with a budget between Rs 3 crore and Rs 3.5 crore, has been shot in two languages (Hindi and Bengali), which would help the film reach out to a wider audience.
One of the producers, Shaijuu Nambiadat, said, “We are happy to have been able to bring about this venture keeping in mind the astounding beauty of the Northeast and the abundance of talent. This entire experience has been a pleasant surprise for us as well as for the artiste fraternity from Mumbai.” Pradip Kurbah and Rameish Sharma are the other two producers of the film.“There is definitely no dearth of acting talent here, and the technician quality is definitely on a par with those of the Mumbai film industry,” Nambiadat added.
Encouraged by the local support , the producers intend to come back with at least two projects, if not more in the future, and are considering to engage local artistes in them.
“Such unique ventures will also surely keep investors and film funding agencies interested and why not? The Maya Tape has all the flavours necessary for a good show, and the making of a filmy hit (in) Bollywood style,” Nambiadat said.
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