Sai Paranjape returns to direction after 11 years

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) National award winning director Sai Paranjape, who is remembered for the hit comedy "Chashme Buddoor", is ready to don the director's cap once again after an 11-year hiatus.

"Although I have planned to make two films, only one is 100 percent final till now. It is a thriller-comedy called 'Khoon Toh Hona Hi Tha'. It will be a fun film and Deepti (Naval) will also be starring in it," Paranjpe told IANS in an interview.

Deepti Naval featured in her "Chashme Buddoor" along with Farooque sheikh.

Paranjape, who has also directed "Sparsh" in 1984 and "Saaz" in 1998, is here as a jury member of the Indian competition category at the ongoing 10th Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab cinema.

She has written the script of "Khoon Toh Hona Hi Tha" and it is being produced by Firoz A. Nadiadwala's production house Base Industries Group.

Talking about the storyline, Paranjape said: "The film is about a scriptwriter who has to finish a script in time. So, the producer sends him to a hill station. He puts him in a hotel on a hilltop thinking that it would be off-season. But the fun begins when the hotel starts filling up with tourists.

"There is an old couple on their honeymoon, a businessman with his wife who is less than half his age, a retired mistress, a painter and other such characters that keep adding to the humour. The businessman is murdered and that forms the thrilling part of the film. It will be a very tongue-in-cheek type of comedy."

A recipient of third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan, Paranjape said that her movie will most probably be shot in Himachal Pradesh and would release towards the end of 2009.

Mita Vashisht, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Suhasini Mulay and Yatin Karekar will play key roles in the film.

Apart from this project, Paranjape is working on another script for a movie called "Kisse", but says nothing is finalised yet.

"'Kisse' is a serious film based on AIDS. It is very sombre and I am sure it will appeal to the masses. Although the script is finalised, I am waiting for someone to finance it," she said.

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