'Rang Rasiya' is one of Ketan Mehta's most promising projects till date. The film, which is based on Ranjit Desai's book Raja Ravi Varma, stars Randeep Hooda as the celebrated 19th century painter and Nandana Sen plays his muse. Since cinematography plays a vital role in an artistic subject like this, the director was convinced that he would require an international DOP (director of photography) like Bulgarian Rali Raltchev to work on the film.

Ketan says, "Ravi Varma is such a part of our consciousness that I wanted a fresh pair of eyes to see what we take for granted. After all, when you make a film on India's most successful painter, the visuals have to be special."

However, this idea came up with its own set of challenges. Rali spoke only Bulgarian-German, and with most of the communication being technical, a normal translator wouldn't solve the difficulty. Deepa Sahi came up with a solution of hiring another cinematographer who could speak Bulgarian as well as English keeping in mind that a person known to Rali would act as an advantage. They invited his friend Christo Bakalov - a DOP based in New York, to come on board. This led to Rang Rasiya ending up with two international DOPs.


Presented by Jayantilal Gada (Pen), Rang Rasiya is directed by Ketan Mehta, produced by Deepa Sahi and Aanand Mahendroo. It stars Randeep Hooda, Nandana Sen and newcomer Triptha Parashar in lead roles. 'Rang Rasiya' is set to release on November 7, 2014.