Anna Hazare has now agreed for a film to be made on his life. Produced by Aniruddh Gaikar, the biopic will be directed by Marathi actor-turned-director, Shashank Udapurkar.
Udapurkar, who recently worked in a film titled Sambhaji Raje, has been tailing Anna for the past one-and-a-half year in a bid to get an insight into his life.
The filmmaker confirms the news, but is tightlipped about who will play Anna in the film. `We are yet to finalise the same. We will announce the name after the elections as Anna is currently busy with other commitments,` he says.
Many filmmakers have approached Anna, but the activist was apparently not keen to have a film made on his life. `After seeing Anna at Ramlila Maidan, I was inspired to make a film on him. It will trace his life from the age of 9 till date,` he says.
Udapurkar will shoot the film in Ralegan Siddhi, Mumbai, Delhi, Kashmir and Ladakh. `We will shoot at real locations - be it his childhood, army days or his return to home town and the fight against corruption,` he says.
Sanjay Pathade, Anna's advisor, confirms, `It is going to be the first biopic on Anna, and he has consented to the same after a few meetings with Udapurkar.` He adds that most films dealing with Anna's life are documentaries that only revolve around his work. Pathade also points out that Anna hasn't suggested any names to the makers.