'Kabuliwallah': Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan will co-star: Talent powerhouses Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan will co-star in director Rituparno Ghosh's Kabuliwallah.
Kabuliwallah is one of the most widely known short stories by nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore; an endearing tale of friendship between a trader from Afghanistan who sells goods door to door in India, and a small Indian girl named Mini.
According to HT, Ghosh, who has been contemplating a film based on the story for some time is finally poised to launch the project to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore on May 7, 2011.
Balan is looking forward to playing a grown up Mini in the film.
"Kabuliwallah is my favorite Tagore story, I've always wondered what happened to Mini after she got married and really went to her sasur badi; and the Kabuliwallah after he returned home to his daughter in Kabul," Balan tells HT.
Balan is also happy she will get another opportunity to act with her Paa co-star Amitabh Bachchan.
"He's just bagged a fourth well-deserved National Award for Paa. I feel like a proud mother," she jokes.
There was a report last month that Balan will feature in ABCL's next venture. It is not clear yet if the film in question is Kabuliwallah.
Balan, 32, is currently filming for Sujoy Ghosh directed Kahaani in Kolkata. In the film, she plays a young pregnant mother who, after having led a protected life, is forced to fend for herself by circumstances.
The film's story is centered on Balan's character.
"A woman protagonist is rare in Hindi cinema and lends herself to all kinds of references and inferences," Balan observes.
The yet to be married Balan has been reading up on pregnancies for her role in the film.
"Expectant mammas look divine. But I've been reading a book on pregnancy and all that about morning sickness, strange cravings and body changes is scary," Balan says.