'Monica' depicts the dark side of 'woman power'

Beating other Bollywood productions to the gun, and braving the ongoing ICC World Cup, Kush Bhargava's and Anup Jalota's 'Monica' is ready to hit screens next Friday with a mix of suspense, woman power and more than a good dose of back stabbing.

What sets the film -- a political thriller directed by Sushen Bhatnagar -- apart is the woman-centric role and the realistic and contemporary feel that depicts the world of scams, kickbacks, bribes and power brokering.

Monica, played by the talented Divya Dutta, is an ambitious journalist who gets ensnarled in the murky world of power, money and consequences.

With a strong cast of Ashutosh Rana, Rajit Kapur, Yashpal Sharma and Kitu Kidwani, the film has an edgy and 'life like' feel that sucks in the audience in a world that they only read and see in news and tabloids.

''There are lots of shades to Monica's character -- she is complicated, vulnerable and ambitious -- and playing the role of a journalist is difficult. But my role is more about the attitude and transformation of the girl from 16 to 35 years of age. I do not think anyone has a better role,'' Divya said.

Co-star, Yashpal Sharma, is confident about the film despite its dark subject and the fact that it only has one song, by Rekha Bhardawaj, played in the background.

''Realistic films are more attractive to audiences now, especially in smaller centres, and judging by the latest trends, realistic and women-centric films are doing well at the box office,'' Yashpal said.

For producers, Jalota and Bhargava, the subject of the film -- ambitious women and the risks they are willing to face and the people they encounter -- was enough to hook them. The script also impressed Jalota, who insisted to his childhood friend, Bhargava to get on board the project.

''I was not into making films when I was presented the script by (director) Bhatnagar. But I was drawn into to it the moment I read it. The script was ready, and all we did was tackle the potential legal aspects,'' said Bhargava.

Audiences can make connections with real life characters like Nira Radia to Madhumita Shukla, though none of the characters are based on them, promise the producers.

''The film is a warning against people who can spoil your future and highlights the dangers of being overambitious. Here is a girl who is ready to do anything, and the people who are there to misguide her along the way,'' Jalota added.

For director Bhatnagar, having a good script and a solid cast, is enough to give him confidence on the success of the film.

''My story will be told through the characters. The cast has brought the characters to life, and Divya's role will surpass her other works,'' he added.

Monica Bedi begins new innings in Nepal

Thirteen years after she acted in her last film of note, "Tirchhi Topiwale", Monica Bedi, better known as the companion of jailed mafia don Abu Salem, has begun a new innings in Nepal, acting in a new film that could be the mirror image of her own aspirations.

The 36-year-old, whose glamorous looks survived her long ordeal in the past when the Indian government sought her extradition from Portugal along with Salem, and her subsequent stay in prison for passport forgery, starts shooting in a Nepali film, "Parichay", directed by Mumbai-based director Akash Pandey.

On Saturday, soon after she flew into Kathmandu and dumped her baggage in a hotel in Thamel, the prime tourist hub in the Nepali capital, Monica was followed by the paparazzi to an ethnic restaurant in the Lazimpat area where she went to savour Nepali food and culture.

It was in the same neighbourhood that Nepali media baron Jamim Shah, alleged to have close links with underworld king Dawood Ibrahim, was gunned down in broad daylight in February 2010. Bharat Nepali, another mafia hit man who claimed responsibility for Shah's killing, was himself shot dead in Bangkok nine months later.

Monica, whose links with the underworld have remained the subject of unquenched speculation, looked unaware of the gangster history of the area as she smilingly posed for photographers in dark skintight trousers topped by a dark Reebok jacket over a jazzy T-shirt, boots and a pair of large sunglasses.

While refusing to comment on the fake passport charge that landed her in prison in India, Monica was, however, happy to talk about the new celluloid venture that has cast her opposite Nikhil Upreti, Nepal's action hero who last year left the Nepali film industry to carve out a niche in Bollywood.

Much of the shooting will be done in idyllic tourist town Pokhara, where earlier Govinda, Priyanka Chopra and decades ago Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman had flocked to shoot their new films.

In "Parichay", Monica plays a girl from a middle-class family who works in an office but is driven by dogged ambition to become a film star.

It could be the true life story of the girl who was born in a village in Punjab and then taken, as a babe in arms, to Norway by her parents. But at 18, she spurned the staid and respectable life of her parents, who ran a garments store, to return to India to seek adventure and her fortune in Mumbai's tinsel town.

Being made in Nepali and believed to have the investment of non-resident Nepalis, "Parichay" unfolds after Monica meets Nikhil at a dance bar and the two fall in love and marry, only to be parted by her unbridled ambition.

Years later, when both have carved out their own identities they meet again, leading to a twist in the plot.

The rest of the film will also be shot in India and Thailand.