Maker of 'Ants' goes for 'The Party'

Chandigarh, July 29 (UNI) Sunil Babbar, who got international acclaim for his English movie 'Ants', has announced a bilingual feature film 'The Party' that would reflect upon the condition and the direction of the youth in the country.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Babbar said the entire story of the film would be narrated through a night party beginning at 2200 hrs and ending at 0400 hrs.

The Party has everything in it from jazzy music to thumping dance numbers and from fun games to free flow of liquor, said Babbar whose 'Ants' not only grabbed 'Best Foreign Film' award in the Yellowstone International Film Festival in the US in 2002 but also earned him the 'Producere of the Year' award in the general category.

Speaking about his new film, he said as the party attended by some 100 odd people reaches its crescendo, a rape is committed and the varied responses to this development make an interesting study of the society.

''After the rape, what we see is the sudden disappearance of masks from the faces of the so-called enlightened and elite who try to steal their eyes from the whole incident and suddenly the nakedness of the society stares us in the face,'' he said.

The film will be shot in cinemascope at 'Chimney Heights,' a discotheque near Zirakpur on the outskirts of the Chandigarh.

''We have preferred the location in Punjab instead of Mumbai to incorporate the vitality and flamboyance found in the blood of the Punjabis.'' On the genesis of the script idea, he said ''I observed that the reality inside a party venue is altogether different from the reality outside. When I saw the same set of people behaving differently in the two conditions, I was intrigued and tried to study this contradiction and the result is the script of 'The Party.' The film, with the lead roles being done by newcomers Ishaan Kakria and Akshita Agnihotri, will be first made in Hindi and then dubbed in English.

The Laughter Show fame Khyali Saharan and Pratap Singh Faujdaar will do the comic roles in the film.

The film, with five dance numbers and a theme song, will have music by Atul Sharma. Babbar's wife Bharti is the producer.

UNI MA SB HT1032