Rang Rasiya was a challenge: Ketan Mehta

"When you believe in a film and invest so much of passion into it and then for some reason it gets delayed it becomes a challenge. But fortunately because of the support of the cast and the crew, we did not let the belief in the project die. Finally, we have come across the barrier and the film is reaching out to audience,” Mehta said.

Mehta and the actors of the movie Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen visited Kolkata recently to promote their film.

Mehta’s 'Rang Rasiya' tells the story of  painter Raja Ravi Verma and his muse Sugandha.

The  painter who dared to defy the convention and was condemned for doing so, more than a century back.

The story of the movie revolves around how Verma was dragged to court for painting nude and how he eventually fought back and won the case.

Mehta said the film is a tribute to Ravi Verma.

Randeep Hooda is playing  the character of Verma while Nandana is seen as Sugandha in the movie.

Briefing Sugandha’s character, Nandana said,” The most fascinating thing about Sugandha is her journey which mirrors and echoes the journey of those heroines that went through in her life. Like Sita, Draupadi, Sugandha’s virtue is also in trial. And, the most striking fact is her representation of  woman strength and vulnerability at the same time in our Indian society.”

Also talking about the theme, the actress said, “There are number of inter connected theme in the movie that are extremely important. There is freedom of expression, understanding the vulnerability of woman in India and also the theme of religious tolerance. All of these concerns us, much more than it did five years ago. So, I feel this is the perfect moment for the film to come up”.

Joining the conversation, Randeep said, “I believe that had this movie released before time then that would have been a real tragedy. Biopics are now a flavor. Our audience seems to be ready to watch not only masala films but also films which has masala in it. A story to tell and are inspirational in some way or the other”.

Mehta feels audiences are changing rapidly than the film makers today.

Directed and produced by Mehta, “Rang Rasiya” releases on  Nov 7.

Reporting by (Prashanti Banerjee)