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EXCLUSIVE: Will the Zubeidaa sequel bring together the Kapoor sisters, Kareena and Karisma for the FIRST TIME?
We have come to know that writer-director Khalid Mohamed is writing a novel, called The Imperfect Prince, as a prelude to the Zubeidaa sequel, in which he wants to cast Karisma Kapoor and her sister Kareena Kapoor Khan, in the leading roles.
Writer-director Khalid Mohamed is extremely busy these days – he is completing the script he is penning for the sequel to Ramesh Sharma’s New Delhi Times. But we have come to know that he is also writing a novel, called The Imperfect Prince, as a prelude to the Zubeidaa sequel, in which he wants to cast Karisma Kapoor and her sister Kareena Kapoor Khan, in the leading roles. This would mean a casting coup of sorts.
Directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed, Zubeidaa (2001) had won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It starred Karisma Kapoor (as Zubeida), Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor with A.R.Rahman giving the background music and soundtrack. Along with Khalid’s Fiza where she also played the title role, Zubeida is considered to be among her finest performances. Karisma played actress Zubeida Begum, who married Maharaja Vijayendra Singh of Fatehpur (Manoj Bajpai) of Jodhpur and both die in a plane crash.
Says a source, “Khalid had written the script of Rutbaa (The Honour) keeping Karisma and Kareena in mind. The sequel will make Karisma appear only in flashbacks as the main character would be Kareena who would be investigating her mother’s mysterious death. But as he’s very busy writing the script for his next project - the sequel to New Delhi Times, Khalid hasn’t been getting much chance to make that movie, so he is converting the research material into a novel, called The Imperfect Prince.”
Khalid admits that he has the Zubeidaa sequel in mind for the Kapoor sisters. He says, “While I haven’t spoken to them, I hope they would consider my offer. It would be a fantasy for me to see them together in Rutbaa. I would also like to have a director matching my sensibilities to direct it. There are very few left of the sensibilities of Shyam Benegal who know that culture and milieu. If Kareena and Kareena agree to do it, it would work. If a sequel is made through my book, The Imperfect Prince, which is fact and fiction, Rekha, Anil Kapoor, Karisma and Kareena would definitely be on my wish list of actors. There is a misconception that Fizaa wasn’t a hit but at it’s time it made 20 crores, over two decades ago but my movies, including Zubeidaa made its money and more.”
Khalid is more forthcoming on his next project - the sequel to New Delhi Times which he is writing. “The sequel is a blend of fact and fiction and like New Delhi Times (1986) deals with the same subject – the relationship between media and politics but in contemporary times, which will include print, social, digital and electronic media and the impact it has. I cannot divulge much details but just reveal that it’s about once incident and the impact it had on the nation at large with all the newspapers covering it. It will not involve any kind of muckraking or caricatures or clichés but depict what happened and was reported and go into depth on that. While the characters of Om Puri and Shashi Kapoor are not there, their families are so it will be a continuation of the same kind of thesis and arguments. There will be a character like Shashi Kapoor who could well be his son. We have an outline in mind and we have to flesh it out.”
Talking about the cast, he says, “It all depends on who likes the script and how it turns out. All my films have strong women characters. I like Taapsee Pannu, Richa Chadda, Sonam Kapoor and Vidya Balan so right now, these four actresses are on top of my list. We have a male lead also with a certain actor in mind, but we cannot take his name right now as it would be presumptuous.”
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