They say that the artist lives through his art.
And though renowned painter may not be around his fans, it’s his art
that’s keeping him alive. But that’s not all. In a rare moment, Barkha
Roy literally gave a glimpse to millions of Hussain’s fans of the artist
once again! Hard to believe right? Well, you really have to see her
forthcoming ambitious venture My Friend Hussain to believe us for the
filmmaker has succeeded in replicating Hussain through a young boy she
cast in her film.
Recalling an interesting incident Barkha,
who also happens to be yesteryear superstar Reena Roy’s sister states,
“We had to shoot a long sequence in the crowded streets of Bhindi
Bazaar, Mumbai and the moment we got Jitin Sharma, our reel life MF
Hussain, out on the streets it was mayhem. Thousands of people out there
literally got befuddled as to how could Hussain be alive? And started
following Jitin till he got mobbed! We had to ultimately call off the
shoot for that day!”
Like a true artist Hussain was always
known for his eccentric personality and it surely wouldn’t have been an
easy task to rope an actor that suited his personality, “It was really a
tough task so much so that I had literally lost all hopes of getting
the right lead. We literally auditioned hundreds of people for more than
a year. And when I was nearly giving up all hopes there came along this
young boy who looked exactly like Hussain sahab. It was unbelievable!”
says Roy.
Although My Friend Hussain has been Barkha
Roy’s pet project, she owes the completion of the film on director
Bhavna Shreshta. Little do many know that this debuting filmmaker was a
Creative Head of writing and directing department at Shah Rukh Khan’s
production house Red Chillies for nearly 10 years.
“She is extremely talented and I’ve known
her as a friend for long. It was on a random chat that we decided to
make a film on Hussain Sahab for whenever she would come to my house she
would notice his paintings all over. The moment I expressed my desire
to work on a film on him she offered to join me!”
Produced by Barkha Roy, My Friend Hussain releases soon.
