After Volver; It’s India Passion For Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz, who is being greatly appreciated at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Pedro Almodovar's evocative cross-generational drama Volver, has confirmed that her India-centric film project will be starting soon.

The film, based on a celebrated novel by Javier Moro, Indian Passion, revolves around a real life turn-of-the-century flamenco dancer who falls in love with and marries an Indian maharaja.

Cruz is slated to play the role of the dancer whose affair with the maharaja begins when he attends the wedding of the then Spanish King.

Indian Passion will be filmed in France, Spain and India later this year.
Cruz's production company, 88 Producciones, named after the tattoo that she has on her right knee, has another major project in the works -- a yet to be titled Spanish film to be directed by the Oscar-winning Fernando Trueba.

Although the project is confirmed, the movie’s director is yet to be finalized. It is still not known which actor will play the role of Indian maharaja in the film.

However, Kapurthala royal Tikka Shatrujit Singh has put reservations against Penelope Cruz’s upcoming film about his great grandfather. He has sent letters to Javier Moro, Penelope Cruz and the Spanish Embassy demanding that the film be true to history and take into account the sensitivities of the family.

“It was a very special marriage,” points out Shatrujit, perhaps in reference to the hint of scandal the unorthodox union had created in its time. “But India is the flavour the world over and when you spice it up through a film with tigers, royalty and love story spanning continents, you have a winner on your hands,” he admits.

But he also hopes that the film reminds the world about the role and relevance of this erstwhile kingdom.

“Before partition, Kapurthala was the premier tourist destination of India. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh was one of the greatest secular rulers of India and the only non-muslim royal to commission a mosque. It’s a tragedy that the Indian government is doing nothing to preserve its own royal heritage.”