Images of her shimmying to Waka Waka in front of a football-crazy global audience might still be fresh in our minds, but Karan Arora, CEO of High Ground Enterprises, is determined to cast Columbian pop sensation Shakira in the role of an Indian goddess with supernatural powers.
UK-based Arora, who was in town to celebrate the success of his company's latest Hindi film project, Bhindi Bazaar, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this month, is equally upbeat about his next project. To be made under his overseas production house, Walter Anderson, the film titled Kaali -The Warrior Goddess, is reportedly a $75 million (Rs 33.7 crore) initiative inspired by Indian religious texts.
"The look of the film will be comparable to Avatar, Lord of the Rings and other VFX projects in Hollywood. This film will be shot completely in 3D on chroma with lots of live animated characters and special effects," says Arora, who is in the final stages of talks with Shakira. "She is quite kicked about the concept of playing a warrior god. We will know her decision by January," he adds.
The posters of the film are already ready, and Arora says he plans to rope in British Indian actors for the supporting cast. "The technical expertise is going to come from the best in Hollywood, like VFX specialist Simon Hunter of The Mutant Chronicles fame. It will be shot in English, but we will also have a Hindi version," says Arora, cautioning people from tagging the film as Indian.
The script, written by Shorna Das, is ready, and pre-visualisation work is underway. "The project goes on floors next April and we are looking for a 2013 release date," adds Arora. Now if only Shakira will agree!