Gaadha

Gaadha (, ) is an upcoming Indian feature film directed by Shaji N. Karun. The film is a bilingual in Malayalam and Hindi and stars Mohanlal and Odissi danseuse Kadambari in the lead roles. It is a cinematic adaptation of writer T. Padmanabhan's short story "Kadal", based on Indian classical music in symphony orchestra. Director Shaji N. Karun and Mohanlal are rejoining for a film after a gap of 13 years, before which they made Vanaprastham (1999) which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999 and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The film's music is composed by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner, best known for his compositions in feted director Krzysztof Kieślowski's classics making his debut foray into Indian cinema.

Production

Development

Gaadha is a cinematic adaption of the short story "Kadal" by celebrated Malayalam writer T. Padmanabhan. The plot has a strain of spirituality which needs to be fused with music, says the director. "It is pretty much like a blend of Carnatic, opera and symphony. This was indeed a great challenge, and it was at this juncture that I zeroed in on Preisner, whose music has always amazed me. I sent him a mail detailing the script and asked him if he could do the music for it. He just replied, 'perfect'," said Karun. The film is being shot at various locales including Varanasi, Ajmer, Leh, Ladak, Lakshadweep and Kerala. Director Karun says he had been stuck with the idea of this film for quite sometime. "There were a lot of factors that had prevented me from going ahead with this project. I have to come up with a visual splendor that would perfectly back the music set by Preisner, and for that I would have required money. And as my films could never be equated with commercial success, it was hard to find a producer. Now everything seems to be slowly falling in place. I am glad I now have a wonderful team to work with," said Karun.

Music

Polish music composer Zbigniew Preisner, best known for his compositions in feted director Krzysztof Kiezlowski's classics, composes music for Gaadha. Preisner defined his entry into Indian cinema as an attempt to understand a new culture. "I have never been here before even on a vacation. But, once I read the script of this film, I thought I must do this. I hope Shaji will bring out a beautiful film," said Preisner. He added that he was keenly following Indian music and that a major portion of the composition for Gaadha would be done at his studio in Poland.