Kisna aims to win over wide, white audience

Subhash Ghai's Kisna - The Warrior Poet is all set to release on January 21 of this month. Always the showman and a consummate businessman, Ghai is keen to tap the overseas market - and not only the non resident Indians, NRIs, but an overseas 'white' audience as well. CNBC-TV18 met Ghai to find out how he attempts to do that.

The Rs 30 crore Kisna is an experiment. Set in the days of the British Raj, this film has two versions. A three-hour long Hindi avtaar that reflect Ghai's sensibilities and a 2 hour 15 minutes long English version, co-written by Farukh Dhondy and British writer Margaret Glover, that Ghai hopes will appeal to western sensibilities. The film even has a different end in the English version, though Ghai insists that this is not a case of sacrificing creative control for commercial gain. 

Says Ghai, "I was always clear that I am making a Bollywood Indian film. If Life is Beautiful can be accepted, (then so can this). This has not hampered our style of cinema." He adds, "film makers are not saying - chalo, Lagaan Oscar mein gaya - so let's make cross-over films."

Kisna - The Warrior Poet, stars Vivek Oberoi in the leading role, and dancer Isha sharvani and British actress Antonia Bernath as the female leads.

The film will be distributed by Mukta Arts' distribution arm when it releases. The movie will have a charity premiere on January 20 and funds will be raised for the Tsunami victims.