Zarina Wahab to star in a Bengali film

The courtesans' colony at Bowbazar in central Kolkata will come alive in a double-version film on nauch girls. "I am the malkin (owner) of such a 'kothi' and I supervise the training part of the girls in it.

"It is a different role for me and Kolkata having a rich tradition of classical music encompassing all genres, I think it would have been the right place for such a movie," she said.

The film will be directed by Nehal Dutta and the 53-year-old actress is happy to make her debut in Bengali films because she feels directors here make good cinema.

"Nehal had assisted famous director Basu Chatterjee, he had worked with Tarun Majumder and I found both very sensitive directors who weaved magic on screen.

"When he narrated the script before me, the tale of a such a girl brought to a kothi in Bowbazar and her transition into a modern day 'baiji', I sensed it was going to be a rocker which none had attempted in the last several years," she said.

The director said he personally had visited the places to do the research for the film. "There are 'kothis' in the Bowbazar and Rambagan areas of north Kolkata where you will find nauch girls from places like Lucknow and Varanasi and they don't come out normally.

"After coming to know about these girls from sources I myself went there for research and was astounded with the fact that there are still 'mehfils' in such kothis during evening hours attended by their loyal clientele," he said.

There are girls, who are very proficient in dancing and singing. "While incorporating these elements, I have sought to bring fictional twist for the sake of a story. But it is not much divorced from truth," he said.

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