Rasika Dugal to play mother in Kashmir-set film

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Actress Rasika Dugal, who features as Safia Manto in "Manto", has taken on another challenging role in a movie titled "Hamid". She will play a widowed mother in the film, set in the backdrop of Kashir.

"Hamid" is backed by Saregama's new production arm Yoodlee Films. Being directed by Aijaz Khan, it is a heart warming tale of a relationship between a widowed mother and a young son who loses his father in the unrest set in the backdrop of Kashmir.

The film, shot in places like Srinagar and Baramula in Kashmir, deals and tells the plight of the current scenario of the Valley and its impact on the people who live there.

Rasika said in a statement: "What really appealed to me about the film was how it has shown the human side to the current plight and given the snapshot into the scenario using a very personal story instead of making it political. Aijaz has been in discussion to work with me for a long time and finally when this script came to me, I was glad to work on it."

She says she prepared herself well for the role.

"I watched a lot of videos to prep myself. There was a lot of video material to understand the situation from a different perspective. I came across the work of this lady by the name of Parveena Ahangar, who runs an organisation which helps Kashmiris find missing people. She herself lost her 17-year-son who was picked up by militants in middle of the night.

"I also stumbled upon this documentary by Iffat Fatima which really gave me a very deep insight into the plight of the people of Kashmir"