MUMBAI: National Award-winning director Kaushik Ganguly is set to direct his maiden Bollywood project, a romantic-drama based against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Titled "Manohar Pandey", the 130-minute film features veteran actors Supriya Pathak Kapur, Saurabh Shukla and Raghubir Yadav.
The movie will be shot in north Bengal and the makers aim to complete filming by February.
Ganguly, who has also written the film, said "Manohar Pandey" has a "universal appeal" which was ideal for his Bollywood debut.
"It's a film that speaks the language of the middle class and lower income groups and touches upon the stigmas and agonies associated with a pandemic that wreaked havoc in the world.
"I will inculcate real life incidents and the common man's experiences that I was privy to in the wake of COVID 19 within the film's narrative," the director said in a statement.
The film is produced by Nispal Singh and Surinder Singh under the banner Surinder Films Pvt.Ltd.
Music composer Jeet Ganguli has been roped in for the score, along with Gopi Bhagat and Subhajit Singha who will serve as the director of photography and editor, respectively.
Kapur said the film has a "wonderful script" and she is looking forward to working on the project with Ganguly.
"It sure will be a great experience," she added.
According to the press release, the film is "pivoted around an extramarital affair of a middle-aged married couple in the midst of a modern plague".
Shukla said the director -- known for films like "Nagarkirtan", "Jyeshthoputro" and "Shabdo" -- approached him for the project in last November.
"He wanted to cast me in his forthcoming venture and I was beyond delighted. I'm really looking forward to kickstart 2021 on a happy and positive note," he said.
Yadav said he is grateful to Ganguly for giving him an opportunity to collaborate with him and hoped to deliver to the expectations of the filmmaker.
"The script is so relatable and practical and I am certain it will win the audience's hearts," he added.