Let alone being familiar with the language and characters of people in small UP villages, where Rangrez is set; Priyan can't even follow the dialect that his characters will speak. in. In this state of despair Priyan sought Vishal Bharadwaj's help.
Says a source, `Priyan's writer Mushtaq Sheikh and Manisha Korde have adapted his Tamil hit Naadodigal into the Bhojpuri belt. Since he wanted to get the details and nuances right, he sought Vishal's help, as he has repeatedly set his films such as Maqbool and Omkara in UP. Vishal put Priyan on to his assistant Honey Trehanto to give his inputs on the casting.`
Says Priyan, `I owe Vishal a big one for introducing me to Trehan. I was clueless about the detailing work in Rangrez. Honey did the casting and coached them on diction and accent.`
Interestingly Rangrez is being shot in Mysore although it's set in Uttar Pradesh.
Explains Priyan, who has re-written Naadodigal for the Hindi belt, `The topography is quite similar. It is impossible to shoot in UP.`
The director is kicked with the idea of working with newcomers for the first time. `I don't even know their names. I will be addressing them by the names of their characters. There are only three veterans on board - cinematographer Santosh Sivan, art-director Sabu Cyril and I.`
