The chemistry of Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi sizzles in the upcoming Indo-German feature love story, Once Again which is slated to release soon.
Check out the first look and trailer!
Witten and Directed by Kanwal Sethi, Once Again is an unusual and mature love story of Tara, a widowed mother who runs a small restaurant and one of her customers, a popular film actor Amar, who she delivers his daily meals. Tara has never seen him – except on the big screen.
Apart from the lead stars, Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi, the film features a stellar cast including Rasika Dugal, Bhagwan Tiwari, Bidita Bag and Priyanshu Painyuli.
The music composer, Talvin Singh, who has been at the helm of fusion music, and has played with the likes of Madonna creates an enchanting and melodious soundtrack.
Actor Neeraj Kabi, who was last seen in Netflix show Sacred Games as DCP Parulkar has done diverse roles in films such as Talvar, Byomkesh Bakshi, Ship Of Theseus, Hichki. Excited about playing a romantic hero on celluloid for the first time, Neeraj says, “I have always wanted to perform a love story on celluloid. I am so happy I finally did.”
Talking about his co-star Shefali, he adds, “Shooting this film has been such an incredible journey with my co-actor Shefali Shah. We were both deeply engaged into the characters we were playing and kept exploring various ways of soaking ourselves into more complex sensations of love and romance. I was fortunate to have Shefali performing because she had this quality of just throwing herself into the scenes and consume everything around her.” “Kanwal, the director, eventually became a friend on set and was always supporting towards our process of work. His sensitivity can be felt in the way he has put the film together. The film has been sensitively shot, thoughtfully edited and the music has a soul of itself.” He adds about the director.
Dil Dhadakne Do, Monsoon Wedding, Satya actress who was recently seen in a acclaimed short film Juice, Shefali Shah describes her character and the unusual love story as, “Strangers from different worlds and from different lives, He from a world of cameras and light. She from a world of smoke and spice. It’s an old-world romance not much said, not in words not in gestures and yet volumes of passion, craving respect and companionship passes between their silent looks. The fact that it doesn’t cross a line of expression and it leaves one hankering for more. That’s the chemistry Tara and Amar share. It’s subtle and yet volatile. Juxtapose of implosion and explosion.”
Writer-director of Once Again Kanwal Sethi, says, “Once Again is an attempt to capture this feeling of loneliness and its different facets in modern urban India. It’s a story of an independent middle-class woman, who after the death of her husband tries to be the pillar of strength and love for herself and her kids, all alone. It’s about a man who has fulfilled all his material desires and achieved novel heights in his career and yet feels incapable of being able to receive love or happiness in his life. My very first thoughts regarding the film were of the atmosphere.”
Sanjay Gulati, the producer and presenter of the film adds “There was a time when stalwarts like Gulzar Saab created sensitive meaningful and mature love stories, it has been a long time since then and for all who long for that era, here is your chance to relive the magic.”
The Indo-German film is produced by Crawling Angel Films, Jar Pictures, Neufilm in collaboration with ZDF/ARTE and is presented by Sanjay Gulati and Neeraj Pandey. ZDF/ARTE are the powerful channels behind films like Lunchbox, Masaan and Qissa.
The film won Facebook Award for the best Work-in-Progress Lab project at the Film Bazaar in Goa.
About the film:
Tara is a widowed mother who runs a small restaurant. One of her customers is popular film actor Amar, she delivers his daily meals. Tara has never seen him – except on the big screen. A chance phone conversation becomes a ritual. They spend hours on the phone, unable to muster the courage to meet. Aware of the reality of an impossible relationship and afraid to transcend the boundaries both have drawn around themselves they live within their safe bubbles. Until one day, when Amar sets out to meet Tara… What follows is a poetic journey of the two lonely hearts in Mumbai, a city of 15 million souls.