South cinema’s in fashion

Madhur Bhandarkar may have been the first Indian director to make an exposé of sorts on the country’s fashion industry, but Sandalwood producer K Manju is set to take things further by remaking Fashion in three southern languages.
“I was so moved by the film and how Madhur drew upon real-life incidents, especially the sub-plot about the model who gets addicted to drugs,” says Manju, adding that the film will be made in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.
Though he admits that the fashion scene down south is not as ‘bold’ as it is in Mumbai, the basic nuances remain the same. “A lot of girls who enter the field face problems that I want to show in my film,” says Manju. The producer also wants to touch upon some of the inner workings of the film industry. “There’ll be lot more than just fashion, for which I have a major star cast planned,” he adds.
To gain a foothold in all the three markets — Sandalwood, Kollywood and Tollywood — the producer plans to join hands with director Indrajit Lankesh, with whom he is holding “initial discussions”. And as for the lead actress, “We’re in talks with Ileana D’Cruz and will soon seal the deal,” says Manju, who plans to start filming from August.
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