“Shanghai” will be the first film to depict Emraan Hashmi’s comic side. The movie is now set for premiere at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, to be held in Singapore June 7-9. The film would be released in India on June 8. It is based on the novel ‘Z’ by Vassilis Vassilikos.
Plot
In a bustling Indian city gearing up for the latest celebrated political elections, 4 individuals find themselves tied up into a gruesome game of crime and politics. A young activist encounters a shocking and disturbing road accident which leaves a prominent political figure in critical condition. A lone girl on the street believes it to be a murder. A porn film maker claims to have documented proof that will bring the government down. A high ranking bureaucrat is brought in by the government for damage control. As days go by, the individuals discover a hidden secret in the governments sector: a vision of a new metropolis,a pipe dream, a dream called “Shanghai”.
“He was there full-on rehearsing, forgetting the culture of the kinds of films he has been doing. He has totally changed and rediscovered himself in this kind of filmmaking. But the fact is that in this film you will, for the first time, see that Emraan Hashmi is a stellar comic actor,” Director Anurag Kashyap said at a special screening of the film. Â The film has been directed by Diwakar Bannerjee.
“Nobody has ever found this funny bone in Emraan and I am so proud that he did it for our film,” he added.
“Shanghai” also stars Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin and hits theatres June 8.
After watching “Shanghai”, Kashyap has declared it is the best film he has ever watched and Banerjee is the country’s best director.
“It’s a film that should be made compulsory for everybody to watch. This is the most powerful and the best film I have seen in a long time,” Kashyap said here Thursday at a special screening of “Shanghai”.
“Dibakar Banerjee is the best filmmaker in the country. Period. There is no scope for discussion on this,” he added.
“Shanghai”, featuring Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin in prominent roles, focusses on politics and corruption.
Kashyap even took to Twitter after the film’s screening and called it a “visceral, stunning and ballsiest film ever made in this country”.
Banerjee, who has earlier helmed projects like “Khosla Ka Ghosla” and “Love Sex Aur Dhokha”, believes Kashyap is an inspiring filmmaker.
“Anurag is too generous and I also think that probably because Anurag is around in the scene and he makes it so exciting and at the same time encouraging is what gives other filmmakers the guts to actually go ahead and do what they are doing,” he said.
“It’s very exciting to have someone like Anurag around because you kind of get excited to do more exciting stuff,” he added.
Kashyap’s two-part series “Gangs of Wasseypur” received critical acclaim at the recently concluded 65th Cannes International Film Festival.
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