by Subhash K Jha

Till recently the easy-going producer from the South Dr J. Murli Manohar dabbled in fantasia such as Jeans and Ramji Londonwale.

But now the London-based producer has tasted blood. After completing Provoked—a real-life wife-battering tale with Aishawarya Rai directed by Jagmohan Mundhra— the enterprising producer has gone and quietly completed a film on the shocking beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The journalist was abducted from Karachi while researching terrorism. He was abducted in 2002 and assassinated.

The incident shook the western and non-western countries.

Since his death Daniel Pearl has become a kind of legend. It was only a matter of time before his life got into film.

Says the soft-spoken producer. " The film entitled Infinite Justice, is our tribute to the gutsy journalist. It's very important for today's cinema to connect contemporary topics with the audience. That's what we've done in Provoked and now Infinite Justice."

Thus would be the second film on Daniel Pearl after the lukewarmly received A Mighty Heart. Murli's film is directed by the Pakistani Jamal Dehlavi who made Immaculate Conception with Shabana Azmi. More recently he filmed the life of Jinnah with Christopher Lee (in the title role) and Shashi Kapoor.

Infinite Justice, written by Faroukh Dhondy, will be released early next year. Back home Dr Manohar has no plans of producing another Hindi film after the Madhavan starrer Ramji Londonwale.

"It's a language I'm not very comfortable with. I recently completed a film in Kannada with Sammir Dattani and Sharmila in the lead."