Ex-mayor stars in Punjabi 'Black'

CHANDIGARH: Her portrayal of a blind girl might soon allow people to look at Punjabi cinema with new eyes. Rhea Sandhu, 8, a class IV student from Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, is playing a Kashmiri girl with visual impairment in the film titled, ‘‘Ek Noor’’.
Another major point of interest for Chandigarh residents in this movie could be the appearance of former city mayor Harjinder Kaur as the mother of the female protagonist played by actor Sudeepa Singh.
Rhea said she took inspiration for the role from the Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali -‘‘Black’’ -which is also the story of a visually and hearing-impaired girl.
The choice of the actor for playing the role of a blind Kashmiri girl was very tough and time-consuming. ‘‘Ek Noor’’ director Mukesh Gautam said, ‘‘We auditioned hundreds of girls from Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and other cities to find the right actor for the role. Rhea has done a fabulous job and generated excellent response during the movie previews.’’
Rhea said, ‘‘This has been a dream come true for me. I have performed in many plays in my school and am quite confident while facing the camera. I would like to take my passion for acting further to achieve more in the cultural field.’’ On the other hand, the former mayor said she chose to be part of the film when the director told her about the movie’s vision for highlighting a social issue. Kaur stated, ‘‘The character I play is very similar to what I am like in reality and quite significant in the movie.’’
For a change, this film won’t revolve around the non-resident Indian storyline that most major movies from the state seem to be following these days.
The plot of ‘‘Ek Noor’’ is about a blind Kashmiri girl, Rabia, played by Rhea. It has been adapted from the real story of its producer Ranjit Chandra’s wife, who had died at the age of 28 and donated her eyes.
‘‘The subject of the movie is very serious and our actors have tried to present it in an extremely believable way. To cater to the larger audience, we have used modern Punjabi language in the film. While the part shot in Kashmir has Hindi dialogue. Our characters speak English also,’’ said Gautam.