Radford plans a Taj shoot

The Indian-born, Oscar-nominated director will do a recce in February for a film
inspired by the legendary Mughal romance

Born in India, Oscar-nominated director Michael Radford is returning to his motherland in February for doing a recce for his forthcoming film based on the Taj Mahal.

Titled Taj, the film, which will be shot in India, was supposed to take off at the end of this year, but it has been delayed due to the recession and the tragic terror onslaught on Mumbai. It will now take off around mid next year.

It will pay a tribute to the famed monument. The $25 million film has been scripted by Krishna Shah (who previously wrote and made films like the Dharmendra starrer Shalimar, the Bollywood multi-star movie Cinema Cinema and American Drive-in).

A well-placed source close to the development of the film said, “It will be a homecoming for Michael as he was born in New Delhi in 1946. The film-maker will visit the Taj Mahal and take a look at some Mughal forts and palaces. The shooting too will most probably take place in Agra and Delhi. Getting permissions to shoot in the historical locations is mired in problems but Michael wants to shoot at the actual locations than working on crafted sets. The feel is completely different.”

g_prithwish@dnaindia.net