Chitrangada's Homecoming with Sudhir

The dusky Chitrangada Singh who made her influential debut in Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi and was all set to team up with the director for his take on Devdas, is now the lead in the director's most autobiographical film to date.

Sudhir Mishra's new film entitled Homecoming which will be shot in the director's hometown will tell the story of a woman's return to her roots.

In essence, Chitrangada will be playing Sudhir Mishra. With his big project Dhruv for producer Ritesh Sidhwani on hold until the lead players Farhan Akhtar and Kareena Kapoor's dates are co-ordinated, Sudhir Mishra is making productive use of the time in-between. He is going back to his roots in his hometown Sagar in Madhya Pradesh to make his most personal political thriller to date.

Divulging details of the project which starts next month Sudhir says, "It's aptly called Homecoming. I wrote the script in the last month-and-half. Perhaps it's my effort to reclaim my past. It looks at all the politics that I've seen in my house while growing up. My maternal grandfather was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. I grew up watching and observing the politics of both the privileged and the protesting classes. Homecoming will look at the relationship between the wronged and the wrongdoer of our society in a political context."

Chitrangada will play a woman who returns to her hometown to repay the favour of a man now in prison who has once bailed her out at a critical stage in her life. All the details are quickly being finalized for the shooting to begin next month. But Chitrangda is on for the principal part. The film will be shot on location in Mishra's hometown Sagar. Homecoming will also star newcomer Arunoday Singh.

About the delay in Dhruv, Mishra says, "Why rush it? I'd rather make it with the actors I want rather than compromise for the sake of speed. And in the meanwhile, I'm making a film that I really believe in. So what's the problem?"

This would be his most personal cinema to date, falling into the hard-hitting gritty realistic space that's the director's forte. But Sudhir has nothing against commercial cinema. "In fact I saw Mudassar Aziz's Dulha Mila Gaya on Tuesday night and enjoyed it thoroughly. Mudassar used to be my assistant. I love his exuberant style of storytelling and I love Sushmita Sen's comic timing."

In fact Sudhir now wants to cast Sushmita in a full-fledged comedy.