Rani Mukerji’s film set for a Russian affair

Russia formed a special bond with Bollywood, largely thanks to late Raj Kapoor’s films in the 60s-70s. Of late, Russian audiences are extending that love to other Bollywood stars, too.

In April this year, actor Anushka Sharma’s horrordrama, Pari became India’s first-ever film led by a female star to release in Russia. And now, we have learnt that Rani Mukerji’s recent hit Hichki is set for a release in the country.

An insider says, “Hichki will be dubbed in Russian and released in the country around Teachers’ Day on September 6. Makers are confident that the positive, progressive and conceptdriven film will strike a chord with the audiences.”

Rani plays a teacher with a nervous disorder, Tourette syndrome and changes lives of teenagers from an economicallybackward background. The insider adds that all thanks to its universal theme, the film will get a “relatively wide release” in Russia. “The film will release across 70 screens and has been titled Ya-Prepod in Russian which means I-Teacher.”

The film also received a standing ovation at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.

Producer Maneesh Sharma feels that the relevance of Hichki’s subject and “its intention to affect a positive social change is universally appealing.”

Director Siddharth P Malhotra adds, “Hichki professes the message that you should convert your worst obstacle into biggest strength by embracing it and working each day to win over it. Hichki has a beautiful message that nothing is impossible. I’m really excited to see the Russian people’s reaction.”