‘I want people to know Husain as a person’

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Fans of the celebrated painter M.F. Husain have a reason to rejoice. Actress Reena Roy’s sister Barkha Roy is set to present the eventful journey of the painter on celluloid. Roy shares interesting details about the special bond shared with him, her experience of producing the film and more.
“There’s a lot more to Husain sahab than his remarkable paintings. He loved filmi gossip and wouldn’t mind making regular calls to his friends to catch up on it. Well, the world may know him as a controversial artist who stirred quite the hornet’s nest, so much so that he had to take exile, but the man was also a gem of a person friends could count on!” shares Roy.
Revealing details about the film, she says, “It is being shot at Husain’s birthplace Pandharpur (Maharashtra) and will be completed soon. Titled My Friend Husain, the film is not a biopic, it is a docu-feature in English of around 1 hour 10 minutes. The film highlights Husain’s journey of life where his close friends and contemporaries including Ram Kumar, H.S. Raza and Jatin Das among others will be speaking about him in the film as a part of the tribute.”
“These contemporaries of Husain will share secrets that not many are aware of. You won’t find all this material on internet or any other source,” reveals Roy.
Barkha will send the film to festivals before releasing it officially. The film will be released this month around the time of his birthday. “It’s my tribute to the great painter and I want the world to know him more as a person than just a painter,” she adds.
She has also incorporated a special song in the film. “Currently we are busy recording a song, sung by Shabab Sabri and music by Sabri Brothers and Atif Khan. We were recently in the capital for a very brief time to shoot a song scene at Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah.”
Recalling his fond memories, she says, “I had met Husain sahab a decade ago at a bank in Bandra and instantly connected with him. He had also seen the film I had produced, Sanam Teri Kasam and expressed his wish to work with me someday. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen but I wanted to honour my commitment,” says Roy, who was gifted a portrait of herself by Husain.
A 23-year-old theatre actor, who was chosen from 100 people who auditioned for the role, will play Husain in the film. “His height, facial features, body language resembles Husain. We are keeping him under wraps at present,” signs off Roy.