After staging innumerable plays for seven years,theatre group Fools Paradise has taken a giant leap into cinema. As they strike a pose for the camera at the Punjab Kala Bhawan,the members look upbeat about their first Hindi film,Runveer. We organised an international short film festival in December in Chandigarh,and this exposed us to European independent films,a chance to interact with new filmmakers and the confidence to get our act together for our own film called Runveer, says director of the film,Mohneesh Kalyan. Runveer is an action film about a young man who comes to the city to seek work but is instead sucked into a quagmire of the underworld. As he battles the odds,the only positive element in his life seems to be the love of a beautiful girl. The film will release in December. The group has been a launchpad for several local actors,directors and musicians over the years. Runveer is another step in this direction as it involves actors from the group and the citys film fraternity,besides writers PS Nirola and Ravinder Mand,and lyricist Munna Dhiman. To be shot in and around Chandigarh,the lead actors have been chosen from auditions held over the last couple of months in Punjab. Most small-budget films today have powerful actors from the stage,and we hope Runveer will highlight the talented actors in the cast, says assistant director of the film,Gurprasad Singh.
