Sameer Karnik: “For Khushboo and I, Rajesh Khanna’s biopic is not a project, it’s a matter of pride”

A week prior, Bombay Times was the first to let us know that filmmaker-actor Nikhil Dwivedi will bankroll a biopic on megastar Rajesh Khanna. Farah Khan is in talks to direct the movie which is based on the book, Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna. Gautam Chintamani, who wrote this book is writing the screenplay and the movie is relied upon to be on the headlines soon.

As per Bombay Times, the filmmakers Khushboo Sinhha and Sameer Karnik are likewise working on a biopic on the country’s first superstar. Their film on Rajesh Khanna will be based on writer Yasser Usman’s book, Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar. The duo have been working on this project, alongside one on Parveen Babi, for quite some time now.

Talking to BT about it, Khushboo said, “We have acquired the rights to Yasser Usman’s book, Rajesh Khanna – The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar. Our film is an adaptation of this book, showcasing the life, the aura and the journey of the legend. We acquired the rights in July 2021 and joined hands with a leading studio to make this film. Since July we have been passionately involved in writing the script which has turned out to be overwhelming. It has not been easy to summarise the superstar’s journey into a bound script. But we can humbly say that we have tried our best without compromising on any aspects of his life. In 2022, we intend to finalise the cast and the technical team to bring this story to life.”
Sameer adds, “It’s not heartbreaking to hear another filmmaker announce a project on the same subject. We all have stories to tell and ways to tell them, and to tell you the truth, every filmmaker is entitled to their own interpretation. We know what we have as a script, We know how much effort we have put in and we are confident and so is our studio that this film will succeed in showcasing the story of the superstar. Sometimes people acquire books to use it only as a tool for their script, but we have followed the book because in itself it is so endearing. For us, it’s not a project, it’s a matter of pride to be able to tell this story.”