‘Begum Jaan’ shooting to start in June: Srijit Mukherji

Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) "Begum Jaan", the Hindi remake of critically-acclaimed Bengali Partition tale, "RajKahini" is coming up and will go on floor in June, said its director Srijit Mukherjee.

"We are on the way to remake the 'Rajkahini' that deals with the aftermath of Partition in Bengal. It has been titled 'Begum Jaan' and Vidya Balan is playing the role of Begum Jaan. The shooting will begin from June 10," said Mukherjee, who was present at the screening of National award winning film "Shankhachil".

"For Bengal and Punjab, the partition is a heart-breaking saga. I wish more movies should be made on this topic," said the National award-winning director.

The hard-hitting "Rajkahini" deals with the trauma of displaced women in a brothel after the border was drawn during the partition. Rituparno Sengupta portrayed the brothel's madame, which Vidya will now perform while the 11 other sex workers will be played by a new cast too.

Mahesh Bhatt, who was moved by the emotional starkness of "Rajkahini" is producing the Hindi remake.

Apart from "Begum Jaan", Mukherjee is also coming up with crime drama "Zulfiqar", based on two of William Shakespeare's tragedies: "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra".