Shyam Benegal has decided to revive his project Chamki which was put on hold because it has changed hands from Sanjay Gupta to Reliance Big Entertainment.
Though Benegal is reluctant to reveal details yet, sources close to the project claim that the closest contenders for the role are Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor. Both had been approached earlier for Chamki but they chose to opt out. Says our source, "Priyanka Chopra was quite thrilled when she was offered to play the lead in Chamki. But she and the film's then-producer Sanjay Gupta had a fall-out earlier when she had refused to do Musafir. The role was then offered to Urmila Matondkar who had monetary issues with the producer." Our source adds, "Initially Kareena was very charged about the role. And considering what Shyam Babu had done with her sister Karisma in Zubeida, she was all the more keen. However she opted out, (as she often does from offbeat challenges like Deepa Mehta's Water and Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat) stating that it was too early for her to attempt something so unconventional." If sources are to be believed, Chamki will now go back to the two original choices Priyanka and Kareena. However the source adds that Priyanka more than Kareena is the natural choice to play Chamki since the role requires a trained dancer. Also Kareena continues to have reservations about non-mainstream cinema. When contacted, Priyanka Chopra said that she was open to the offer. "But I had read the script ages ago. The whole project has to be evaluated afresh. And who wouldn't want to work with Shyam Benegal?" Chamki, a desi version of Georges Bizet's 1845 opera Carmen is set in Rajasthan. The film is being re-designed as a musical with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and A R Rahman. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=30&contentid=20080924200809240228014341229b86b
