Roshan Abbas joining hands with Shahrukh

Roshan Abbas is a name that has been synonymous with TV shows, anchoring live events, theatre and radio for almost a decade now. After having dabbled (successfully) in various communicative media, the versatile Roshan is now all set to take the big leap. Roshan Abbas would be directing his maiden film early next year and if the buzz is to be believed, the project is backed by none other than Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment.

Roshan Abbas confirmed the news, "Yes, it's true that I am directing my first film in 2009. Not many know, but I finished my Masters in Filmmaking way back from Delhi. After that it just so happened that because I was doing a lot of theatre and stage shows, I ended up becoming an anchor. In 1999, I had written and directed a play called 'Graffiti' about life at high school. The play was a runaway success with great music and excellent choreography by Shiamak Davar.

"However, during that time, it was very difficult for me to carry the play to different cities considering the big canvas that it had. Later in the year 2003, I came up with the idea of making a film on the lines of the play 'Graffiti' and along with my co-writer Ranjit Raina developed the screenplay for the film. In between, I got busy with my company 'Encompass' and a lot of other stuff. However earlier this year, I suddenly seemed to have some time for myself after divesting 50% stake of my company. That's when I decided that I should start working on my film. As a radio person, you have spoken to a city; as a TV guy you have spoken to a country but ultimately the biggest canvas that you look for as a communicator is cinema and that's how I decided to go ahead with this film."

So what is the film about and would it star new faces or established names? "My film is very much on the lines of the play 'Graffiti' that I wrote and directed. The film is set in a high school and will try to capture the various emotions such as love, jealousy, pride that one goes through during school days. I believe some of the best days of our life are the ones that we spend in high school and it is this period of one's life that the film will portray. As for the cast, I truly believe that 15 year olds should play 15 year olds and hence my film will star new faces."

Coming to the most important question, is it true that the Shahrukh's company Red Chillies Entertainment is producing the film? "I have done quite a few shows with Shahrukh and during one of these shows, I just bounced off the idea of this film to him. He later called me for a narration. He has pretty much liked what he heard and even came up with his own valuable suggestions. As of now, we are still under discussions and there are some things to be finalized. I hope to make a formal announcement sometime in January 2009. At this stage, all I can say is that I am definitely making this film in 2009 and I would be more than happy if it's backed by SRK's Red Chillies," signs off Roshan Abbas.