Aishwarya Rai To Star In Indo-American Film Based On Musical Inspired From Tagore’s Work

Mumbai: Aishwarya Rai has signed her second international project after ‘Bride and Prejudice’ (2004). It is based on Isheeta Ganguly’s musical theatre ‘Three Women’.

Fusion singer and theatre writer-director Isheeta Ganguly is adapting her own successful musical theatre into a film, also marking her film directorial debut.

Confirming the news, Ganguly told News18.com, “Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be playing the main protagonist in the film. While the play was called ‘Three Women’, we are changing the name and have titled our film ‘The Letter’ as the film is based around the letter of Kadambari Devi who was Tagore’s sister-in-law. I am delighted that Aishwarya loved the script and will be featuring in the film.”

Ganguly added that she has given her own spin to the screenplay, “The musical theatre that I wrote and directed was crafted on the evolution of two protagonists from Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s novellas — ‘The Home And The World’ and ‘The Empty Nest’ (Bimala and Charu) along with a 21st-century spin given to Kadambari Devi, a Sex and The City-esque ghost character. For the film, I have adapted the story into the modern-day context and made it into a mother-daughter story.”

Ganguly wanted to make the film in Hindi but Aishwarya suggested she make it English, “Aishwarya and I were in discussion before the pandemic hit. I was originally looking to make it as a Hindi film. When she read the script she felt that the film would fly in English given the urban American sensibilities of the story. It was her conviction that I decided to make it into an Indo-American film.”