'What to leave out' a challenge in Ram Jethmalani biopic

One of the most challenging aspects of making a biopic on veteran advocate-politician Ram Jethmalani is to choose which parts of his eventful life won't be a part of the film, says Soha Ali Khan, one of the co-producers of the project.

Soha and her actor husband Kunal Kemmu have started a production house Renegade Films. They have tied up with Ronnie Screwvala to co-produce the Jethmalani biopic, for which a director is yet to be announced. It is in the scripting stage.

"It's a fascinating life story, because Mr. Jethmalani is now 94 years old. He has had a career of over 70 years, and look at the people who he has represented. They range from politicians to notorious criminals... The task is not the story to tell, but the parts we will have to leave out or what we don't tell. And every bit is exciting," Soha told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

From appearing in the famous K.M. Nanavati versus State of Maharashtra case in 1959 to the multi-crore 2G scam in 2011, from being L.K. Advani's defence in the Hawala scam to fighting for Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation case filed by Arun Jaitley, Jethmalani has been part of many high-profile cases in the court of law.

"It's a hard task to make a two and a half hour film. But we have a good partner in Ronnie Screwvala. Once we have a script ready, we will be locking a director, and once we have a captain to the ship, we will go full steam," Soha added.

Kunal will reportedly portray Jethmalani, who announced his retirement in September, on the big screen.

--IANS

rb/bg