Bollywood News

Abhishekh Bachchan's stirring role as a migrant hoodlum in a recent Hindi film has landed him his first Bengali film as a hero. And he would be playback singing for it too!

Bachchan's performance in Mani Ratnam's "Yuva" caught the attention of Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh, who offered him the lead role in his forthcoming film "Antarmahal".

Ghosh's first film as a producer is described as a big budget venture by Bengali cinema industry standards and also stars Jackie Shroff, Soha Ali Khan, Raima Sen and Rupa Ganguly.

Shooting for "Antarmahal", based on a story by Bengali writer Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, began Monday.

Bachchan, who had a cameo role in an earlier Bengali film, plays a poor Bihari potter. "It's a character I have never been offered. Hence, it is challenging," Bachchan said.

He would be singing a song in Maithili. Most of the dialogues in the film are in Hindi.

Ghosh described "Antarmahal", a period film set in 19th century Bengal, as a film about violence that seeks to capture the feudalism of the time.

He said much of the film's outcome depends on the body language of the characters and their expressions. Which is why he thought of Bachchan, who plays a migrant Bihari hoodlum in "Yuva".

In the film, Bachchan is Braja, a Bihari potter who comes to a Bengal village, stays back and meets his future wife (Raima Sen).

Jackie Shroff is the village landlord. Rupa Ganguly plays his first wife and Soha Ali Khan his second wife.

The sets of the village have been built inside a stadium in Kolkata's southeastern neighbourhood of Santoshpur.