Swara Bhasker, the Hindi actor, will next be seen playing the role of a police officer in the Gagan Puri directorial Mimamsa.
Confirming the news, Puri tells Silverscreen India that the film will be a mystery thriller but will have a message at the end which the audience will connect to.
“It is a very realistic film without many twists and turns. Mimamsa deals with an investigation that starts after certain murders take place in a town. The plot revolves around how Swara’s character goes about the investigation and uncovers the truth,” the filmmaker says.
This will be Bhasker’s second time donning the uniform for a role after her Eros Now web series Flesh.
About casting the actor, Puri says, “We did not decide beforehand that we would cast her specifically. But she is a very realistic actor and that is what we wanted for the film. When we pitched the script to her, she said yes. So it all went in a flow.”
However, when actor Bijendra Kala was approached for his role as a forensic officer in Mimamsa, he had initially laughed it off and said, “Let’s try and see,” says Puri.
Mimamsa is bankrolled by Moffy Production and co-produced by KP Production.
The film’s pre-production work happened during the Covid-19 lockdown and was completed by July 2020. The shoot commenced in October in Bhopal.
“The shooting experience was great. We managed to finish the shoot on time even though there were a lot of precautions taken to follow the Covid-19 protocols. There were also restrictions regarding how many people could be on set, etc. For Mimamsa, 60% of the shoot was outdoor and 40% was indoor,” says the filmmaker, adding that the team wrapped up the shoot in 33 days.
Puri, who is currently busy with the post-production work, expects the film to be ready by August 10. However, a release date is yet to be decided.
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“Initially, we were planning for a theatrical release, but given the current situation, we do not know if theatres will operate normally by the time we are ready. So the option of OTT is also open,” he says.
“I will be happy either way as the motive is to entertain the audience. Even if it is a theatrical release, after a couple of months it will eventually go to OTT. So people will be watching it in both places anyway. But, of course, the feel in theatres is totally different,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Bhasker also has Sheer Qorma, written and directed by Faraz Arif Ansari (Sisak) and produced by Marijke de Souza, awaiting release. The featurette stars Divya Dutta alongside Bhasker.