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The language palette of Priyanka Chopra's Purple Pebble Pictures is all set for new additions - Assamese, Malayalam and Gujarati.
This was revealed by Madhu Chopra, the actor's mother and head of the production company, on the sidelines of the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Friday.
Speaking exclusively to PTI after the world premiere at TIFF of Purple Pebble's Nepali-language, Sikkim-set film Pahuna: The Little Visitors, written and directed by debutante Paakhi A Tyrewala, said:
Having already produced films in Bhojpuri, Marathi and Punjabi, the banner is now in the process of giving finishing touches to the screenplay of its first Bengali film, Nalini, which tells the story of a 17-year-old Rabindranath Tagore finding his first love in Maharashtra during a stay there with his elder brother and ICS officer Satyendranath Tagore.
The banner is at the same time finalising plans for films in Malayalam and Gujarati as well, Madhu said.
Regarding the upcoming Barua film, the producer said, "We approached him for a collaboration with us. He asked for some time to make up his mind. He recently gave his go-ahead to the project."
"The film is about a towering figure and deals with sensitive aspects of his life, so we cannot afford to slip up at all," Madhu, a former Army doctor who now presides over her daughter's film production activities, said.
Tyrewala has showered lavish praise on the production company for its approach.
"I had the desire and confidence that I could direct a film, but the film wouldn't have happened had they not backed me to the hilt. They are hands-on but very non-interfering," she told this correspondent.
"She said she would back my film for the very reasons that the others had rejected it," the director said.
Pahuna tells the story of three children separated from their parents as the family flees political unrest in Nepal.
They end up in Sikkim and confront their fears and uncertainties with childlike innocence, hope and tenacity.
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