Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s fans may have been disappointed when she had to pull out of husband Abhishek’s Crooked – but ears pricked up when the news was announced that Pakistani-born actress Sonya Jehan would be maintaining the glamour quotient in a film that already stars Sarah Jane Dias, Gul Panag and Shahana Goswami.
It’s not just that Sonya is a rare talent in herself, having made an impressive debut as Mumtaz in Taj Mahal – An Eternal Love Story, and she is set to make a brief appearance in My Name is Khan, it’s that she is also the grand-daughter of legendary Pakistani actress and playback singer Noor Jehan. Noor is possibly unique in having been instrumental in the early days of two cinema industries – Bollywood and after partition, Lollywood. Who could ever forget her ethereal tragic performance as Anarkali (1953)?
Producer Ritesh Sidhwani confirmed Sonya’s involvement in the movie. “She’s tremendously beautiful and talented and suited the part she has been chosen for,” he said, “We won’t call the film Crooked, though. That was the working title. And we’re looking for a new title urgently before the working title sticks.”
