The actor will play a 'playboy' pharaoh in Christopher Miles' Film, Knightley may star in it
By: Subhash K Jha
Chistopher Miles, best known for his biopic The Priest Of Love on DH Lawrence, is currently in Mumbai for the casting of his next biopic. Miles' The Last Pharaoh is based on the life of the last Egyptian pharaoh, King Farouk, whose colourful and controversial lifestyle made him the brunt of innumerable barbs and arched eyebrows.Miles has decided to cast a Bollywood actor as Cairo's cool casanova. The 25-year old Ruslaan Mumtaz has bagged the dream role. Catching upHours after the deal was finalised Ruslaan says, "I had never even dreamt of getting the role. The cinematographer of my first film Amitabha Singh, is the chief-assistant DoP for Christopher's project, and he showed my pictures to the director. He was immediately stuck by my physical resemblance to King Farouk. He saw my debut film Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar and made up his mind. When he flew down to Mumbai to meet me this weekend, I couldn't believe it was all happening."The film chronicles Faroukh's playboy-ish life-style and his relationship with a British girl, to be possibly played by Keira Knightley, although the film revolves around Ruslaan's character."King Farouk died young at 45 because of his hedonistic lifestyle. The Last Pharaoh will go back to his life at 23. I'm catching up on visual and printed material on Farouk. He was quite a cool cat. He loved ladies and fast cars. So do I! And he'd acquire both in every shape and size. I'd love to do the same," Ruslaan chuckles.Mouche adoMiles wanted one final audition with Ruslaan in a moustache before clinching the deal. "The mouche is easy to grow. Now the real hard work begins," exults the young actor. "I've been given video tapes on King Farouk to study his body language and facial expressions. I must say I do resemble him quite a lot. But he was bulky, in fact fat. I've gone the other way recently and lost lots of weight. Now I've been ordered to put on weight. So I've to start binging. I can't get any luckier. I get a role any Indian actor would kill for, and I get to flirt with flab."Ruslaan can't believe what's happening to him. "After my debut, I just didn't know what to do next. I guess I've 'Miles' to go."
LINK: http://epaper2.mid-day.com/midday/scripts/epaper/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&getda=h&eddate=02/27/2008
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