A.R. Rahman Boards 'No Land's Man'

Oscar-, BAFTA- and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman (''Slumdog Millionaire'') has joined US-India-Bangladesh film ''No Land's Man'' as co-producer and composer.

Directed by eminent Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (''Saturday Afternoon''), the film chronicles a South Asian man's journey that becomes complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the US.

''Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideas,'' Rahman told Variety. ''The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story.''

Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui (''Sacred Games'') stars with Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, making her feature debut, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan.

The film, shot in the US, Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

''The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one,'' Siddiqui told Variety. ''A.R. Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer.''

''No Land's Man'' won the MPAA and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014; was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan; and was chosen as the best project at India’s Film Bazaar the same year.

The film is a production by US outfit Dialectic (''Screwdriver'') and Bangladesh's Chabial (''Television''), in association with India's Magic If Films (''Manto''), Bangladesh’s Sun Music & Motion Pictures (''Lalon'') and Bongo BD, Bangladesh’s largest streamer.

''Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014,'' producer Srihari Sathe told Variety. ''Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world.''

Post-production was underway simultaneously in the US, India and Bangladesh, before being temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

''99 Songs,'' Rahman's debut as a producer, premiered at Busan last year and is awaiting a post-pandemic release.

Source: Variety