Published 15:26 IST, October 21st 2020
Vidya Balan starts filming for Amit Masurkar's 'Sherni', poses with tiger cub to announce
Vidya Balan will play the role of a forest official in Amit Masurkar's upcoming film which is based on the controversial killing of Tigress Avni in 2018.
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Vidya Balan announced the title of her next film as Sherni on the occasion of Valentine's Day earlier this year. However, due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, the film production could not have commenced as the industry had come to a standstill for more than 6 months. However, with most of the lockdown restrictions now lifted across the country, the makers of Sherni have hit the floors.
The Dirty Picture actor took to her Instagram stories and announced that she's all set to begin filming for Sherni in an interesting manner. She shared a selfie with a virtual 3D tiger cub nestled around her neck. She captioned the photo, "Chalo meri #SHERNI shooting shooting khelein".
The film is helmed by Newton fame director Amit Masurkar and will explore man-wildlife conflict with a plot that revolves around a real-life incident. In November 2018, Tigress Avni, also known as T1, had made headlines when she was shot dead in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. A classic example of man-animal conflict, Avni’s killing caused outrage among many across the country. The Supreme Court of India had directed the forest department and its officials to first tranquilize and then trap Tigress Avni. However, she allegedly attacked the team which shot her.
Further, as per reports, the producer of the film Vikram Malhotra had reportedly been looking for a strong performer to play the role of a forest official in the film. It seems that the Dirty Picture actor, who is known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in cinema, has fit the bill for the role. Vidya Balan's last release was Anu Menon directorial Shakuntala Devi which premiered on OTT platform and received rave reviews.
As per reports, Vidya Balan and the Sherni team will start shooting with their 35-day schedule in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. The makers of Sherni has hired an agency that would monitor the safety measures on the sets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The cast and crew of Vidya Balan’s Sherni would fly to Nagpur before moving ahead to Balaghat. Additionally, road transportation arrangements have been made to carry equipment to the shoot location.
15:26 IST, October 21st 2020