Award-winning international director-producer Ben Rekhi has his eyes set on Bollywood sensation Priyanka Chopra to feature in his film based on debutant novelist Karan Bajaj's best-selling novel, Keep Off The Grass and his forthcoming magnum opus.
Ben says, "I'm writing a graphic novel with Kamlesh Pandey (writer of Rang De Basanti, Delhi-6 etc) which I'll make into a movie. It'll be ready in the next two months. The film will be called Beti and it'll be a superhero sci-fi film where I want Priyanka Chopra to play the lead."While this American director is best known for writing, directing and producing his directorial debut Waterborne with Shabana Azmi, he's
awestruck by Priyanka Chopra's beauty, he said ecstatically, "I met Priyanka two weeks back at the photoshoot of a magazine but I didn't tell her about this project of mine because I didn't want to talk about work when she was already working," he says, adding, "She is unbelievable. I would be really excited to make a film with her."The movie based on the book will be in Hinglish and though the book mentions the protagonist joining IIM Bangalore, Ben says, "We will not shoot at IIM Bangalore for this part. I was doing a recce at the institute for Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots. I don't think I'll shoot there because I know there'll be a lot of comparisons between my film and 3 Idiots."
Ben has worked with George Clooney in Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, where he shot some portions which Clooney had asked him to can. Will he cast a biggie like Clooney with Piggy? Wait and watch!
