This one is going to be a heart-wrencher… We are talking about Sonali Bose’s upcoming directorial based on Aisha Chaudhary, which rolls this August. The film is based on Aisha’s own book, My Little Epiphanies. A motivational speaker from Delhi, Aisha was well known and appreciated for her positive attitude towards life and learning. She was born with an immune deficiency disorder when she was 6 months and diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis when she was 13. Post this she had to undergo a bone marrow transplant.
Aisha has been giving inspirational talks at various platforms since she was 15. She was named an INK Fellow and spoke at the 2011 and 2013 INK Conferences. She was also a speaker at TEDxPune in 2013. An inspiration to many, she touched many lives with her never-say-die attitude.
She passed away at the age of 18, a day after her book was released.
Bringing this moving tale to celluloid is Margarita with a Straw director Shonali Bose, who will apparently cast Dangal and Secret Superstar’s Zaira Wasim in the lead role. In a casting coup of sorts, none other than Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar will essay the role of Aisha’s parents. Aisha was the daughter of Niren Chaudhary, a president with South Asia operations of YUM brand, and Aditi, a mental health care worker.
The film is bound to offer huge scope to Priyanka as an actress. She has already signed on for Salman Khan-starrer Bharat, which will presumably be more in the commercial space. The Sonali Bose film will offer her the opportunity to really sink into a role with multiple layers and an immense capacity to touch hearts.
The yet unnamed film will also bring back the unusual but charismatic Priyanka-Farhan Akhtar pairing. Farhan, who has put on record the fact that he has “the highest regard for her talent,” has directed Priyanka in Don and its sequel Don 2. As actors, they shared screen space in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakane Do, where they were romantically paired opposite each other.
There will be even better things in store, we predict.
