Kalpana Lajmi to direct film on Bhupen Hazarika

Mahesh Bhatt is all set to write another biopic, this one based on the passionate 40-year-old relationship between legendary musician Bhupen Hazarika and filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi.

Entitled Dhumuha: The Storm the film to be produced by Pooja Bhatt, will be written jointly by Kalpana and Mahesh while Kalpana will direct the film.

Says Kalpana, “It is Bhatt saab’s and my homage to a man whom we both consider to be a true son of India. Bhupenda is beyond a legend. In Assam, every leaf that stirs in the trees hums his melodies. He has an all-pervasive impact on our traditional sounds. We will endeavour to put his stormy life and music in one film. A tough task. I hope I am up to it. Bhatt saab certainly is.”

This biopic on one of India’s looming musical legends comes at a time when Anurag Basu’s proposed biopic on Kishore Kumar with Ranbir Kapoor in the title role is poised to take wings. Kalpana says the saga of Bhupen Hazrika is far removed from Kishore Kumar’s. “Both were legends in their own right. But Bhupenda worked within a different discipline. His music was not restricted to cinema.”

But how much of her life with Bhupenda would Kalpana be willing to reveal in the film? According to Mahesh Bhatt, “It would be Kalpana’s and my effort to pay a homage to Bhupen Hazarika. But first we would excavate from Kalpana’s heart her storehouse of memories of her passionate relationship with Bhupen. It would be her untold story. The story of a girl who worshipped the man and the musician she fell in love with.”

Santosh Sivan, with whom Kalpana worked earlier in Rudaali and Darmiyaan, will be doing the cinematography.

The big question is, who would play Bhupen Hazarika and Kalpana Lajmi in this biopic?
Says Kalpana, “The hunt has begun. It’s tough to find a face and talent to play Bhupenda. As for me, I don’t know who can play me. Vidya Balan, perhaps?”

Interestingly, Kalpana would be approaching two back-to-back biopics. After the one on her life with Bhupen Hazarika she would write and direct a biopic on the slain actress Priya Rajvansh’s 40-year relationship with filmmaker Chetan Anand.