Ashim Ahluwalia inks deal for international distribution of his upcoming film while its Indian release is still pending

Despite not having found a release date in India yet, Miss Lovely is already in the process of paving its way for an international release.

Being extremely busy with the film's post-production in Berlin, which will be followed by sending his film to the Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia admits that he doesn't have the time to look into the procedures that are required to find a release date in India.

Although he is anticipating cuts from the national Censor Board, it isn't discouraging him. On the contrary, he is quite keen to see how the Indian audience receives this film about people who are in the profession of making low-budget C-grade flicks.

The filmmaker says, "For me, it's very important to release in India, almost more than anywhere else. The film has some ‘adult' content so it may have some issues with the censors but I'm hoping that we can work out a version that works without compromising it."

Ashim, in the meanwhile, has already inked a deal with a multi-national production firm for international sales. Talking about this North American company he adds, "They've backed renowned directors like Hou Hsiao Hsien, Wong Kar Wai and much of the contemporary cinema that I love. I am glad to see my work amongst the projects they support."

The feature film is slated to screen in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The last Indian project to be selected for this particular category was Vikramaditya Motwane's Udaan.

The film is primarily set in the 1980s Bombay and follows the lives of two brothers — played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui (of Kahaani fame) and Anil George. It explores the underbelly of the pre-globalisation era but the plot deliberately falls short of poking fun at such filmmakers.

"I don't laugh at such films at all but marvel at how they were made so cheaply with so few resources. In that sense, they were the original independent films of their time," explains Ashim.