European beauty Saidah Jules, who created waves on the modeling circuit and co-starred with Uday Chopra-Priyanka Chopra in ‘Pyaar Impossible’, is now all set to impress everyone with her acting skills in her first film as main lead — actor-turned-director Girish Malik’s ‘Jal’ shot in the desert.
In fact, the actress spent 40 days in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat shooting for the film with co-stars – Ayushmann Khurrana (former Radio Jockey, Video Jockey, Television Host and Actor), Tannishtha Chatterjee, Purab Kohli, Yashpal Sharma and Gary Richardson. The film ‘Jal’ was presented at the Goa Film Festival in November 2010 at the Film Bazaar 2010.
Jal is a Hindi film and a tale about the crisis posed by the drying up of the river Narmada. It’s a concept about human beings versus birds and the absence of water. Girish Malik, who is also a brilliant actor and dancer, is directing his first film that promises to be visually stunning. The movie is about how people in Kutch go to great lengths to save water.
Talking about the movie, Saidah Jules says, “The film shoot is going on quite amazing so far. It’s always a pleasure to work with Girish Malik. I like the way he directs and ‘sees’ the movie. ‘Jal’ is our first project together and I believe we have a long way to go professionally. He is fantastic person to work with and I am happy that my first movie as main lead happens to be exactly with Girish Malik.” She adds, “Girish Malik is a total genius. Love working with him. He is someone in indian film industry who really impressed me with his way of creating a story and creative process.
Talking about her performances, Saidah Jules says, “I think a good performance comes from strong rehearsals. I believe rehearsals are what it takes to be professional. I believe in lots of work and rehearsals before you show something to people.”
Talking about Kutch, Saidah says, “Rann of Kutch is beautiful. This desert is a great place to visit for a few days. I have been living there for 40 days and had to forget what 21st century is about. Still recovering. It’s been tough if to say it in simple language. We have so many interesting people in our film and I am really glad to work with Purab, Yashpal and Tannishtha. Some of them really helped on professional front.”
Saidah Jules also performed at Kala Ghoda Art Festival and had a truly magical experience. She made her grand debut in India in her play “Test or a suicide” with Gary Richardson and Pranav. She says, “I think it’s very interesting what Mad Horses troupe does (Gary Richardson and Alyque Padamsee). We really had amazing performance and for my debut I did quite well. I really gave my best and audience loved it. Applauses were the best part of the show. It was a pleasure to work with Gary, Alyque and my co actor Pranav.”
How does she deal with all the males who shower attention on her and flirt with her. Saidah says, “Well, I have got used to male attention. Girish Malik was the one who didn’t flirt with me. LOL. Don’t get me wrong…there is nothing wrong in flirting but when everybody flirt around and than you meet a person who doesn’t it looks different. It feels different and it also inspires you for something different. Respect!!!”
The entire film was shot in the Rann of Kutch and surrounding areas of Bhuj in Gujarat. Mukul Dev will be seen riding a camel, sporting a short shirt, dhoti, ethnic ornaments, a beard and turban. The music of the film is composed by the legendary singer Sonu Nigam and famous tabla player/percussionist Bickram Ghosh. This is the first time the duo will be composing for a Bollywood film [5]. The composer-duo recorded the film’s title song with the legendary Shubha Mudgal. The title song is a unique composition, for which they have used some haunting ragas like Marwa and Puriya combined with rare musical instruments like the Armenian Duduk. The entire song was created in a day.
