By H. S. Rao/PTI - Daily News and Analysis - Mumbai, IndiaMonday, May 14, 2007
London: Noted Indian director Shyam Benegal will undertake a major international film on the life of Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of Tipu Sultan who was a secret agent in the Second World War and was awarded the George Cross for her bravery.
Based on the best-selling and critically acclaimed book 'The Spy Princess' by journalist-cum-writer Shrabani Basu, with a screenplay by Lord Meghnad Desai and Kishwar Desai, the film will be the first Indian movie where the language will be English, French, German and Hindi.
Benegal, nephew of the legendary actor-director Guru Dutt, produced artistically superior yet commercially viable films -- Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) -- which were super hits.
Tapping fresh talents like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Amrish Puri, Benegal has made several sensitive films.
Noor's amazing story of courage and sacrifice will be brought to celluloid by an international cast and will be shot entirely on location in Britain and France. It will be the first Indian film to be set during the Second World War.
Noor Inayat Khan, the courageous Indian woman, was the daughter of the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan and his American wife. Born in Moscow, she was brought up in France and Britain.
Noor was the first woman to be infiltrated into occupied France as a radio operator and worked undercover in Paris helping the French Resistance.
She was betrayed and captured and brutally murdered in Dachau Concentration Camp. She was awarded the George Cross by the British government and the French honoured her with the Croix de Guerre.
Lord Meghnad Desai said, "The story of Noor Inayat Khan transcends nations and cultures. It is an intensely human story of a woman brought up to tell the truth and eschew violence. Yet she fought as a spy and died in a Nazi concentration camp with the word 'Liberate' on her lips.
Noor was Indian, French and British, a Sufi and a fighter, a gentle musician and a brave soldier. This is why her appeal is cosmopolitan."
Based on the best-selling and critically acclaimed book 'The Spy Princess' by journalist-cum-writer Shrabani Basu, with a screenplay by Lord Meghnad Desai and Kishwar Desai, the film will be the first Indian movie where the language will be English, French, German and Hindi.
Benegal, nephew of the legendary actor-director Guru Dutt, produced artistically superior yet commercially viable films -- Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) -- which were super hits.
Tapping fresh talents like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Amrish Puri, Benegal has made several sensitive films.
Noor's amazing story of courage and sacrifice will be brought to celluloid by an international cast and will be shot entirely on location in Britain and France. It will be the first Indian film to be set during the Second World War.
Noor Inayat Khan, the courageous Indian woman, was the daughter of the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan and his American wife. Born in Moscow, she was brought up in France and Britain.
Noor was the first woman to be infiltrated into occupied France as a radio operator and worked undercover in Paris helping the French Resistance.
She was betrayed and captured and brutally murdered in Dachau Concentration Camp. She was awarded the George Cross by the British government and the French honoured her with the Croix de Guerre.
Lord Meghnad Desai said, "The story of Noor Inayat Khan transcends nations and cultures. It is an intensely human story of a woman brought up to tell the truth and eschew violence. Yet she fought as a spy and died in a Nazi concentration camp with the word 'Liberate' on her lips.
Noor was Indian, French and British, a Sufi and a fighter, a gentle musician and a brave soldier. This is why her appeal is cosmopolitan."
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1 comment:
As a Sufi, she fought the Nazi tyranny and brutality as a radio operator relaying important information, not with a gun. May Allah bless her soul.
Ya Haqq!
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