Chinese
superstar
Xia
Yu
reported
on
the
sets
of
prestigious
Indo-Chinese
joint
venture
The
Desire
in
Kollam,
Kerala
on
Wednesday.
The
Desire,
directed
by
journalist-turned-National
award
winning
Malayalam
director
R.
Sarath,
co-produced
by
Sharad
Hegde
and
Tracy
Shiyun;
Xia
Yu
stars
opposite
Bollywood
heroine
Shilpa
Shetty.
Xia
Yu
shot
into
international
fame
by
winning
the
best
actor
award
in
the
Venice
Film
Festival
for
his
debut
film
In
the
Heat
of
the
Sun
(Xia
was
the
youngest
actor
to
win
this
award
in
the
history
of
the
festival),
32-year-old
Xia
said
he
is
yet
to
meet
Shilpa.
However,
he
has
watched
some
of
her
films
to
get
an
idea
of
his
co-star"s
work
in
Bollywood.
“She
is
very
pretty
and
talented," he
added.
Xia
has
acted
in
more
than
20
films
so
far.
If
reports
are
to
be
believed,
actress
Shilpa
Shetty's
role
is
most
challenging.
Shilpa
Shetty
will
appear
with
a
"totally-shaved" head
for
some
scenes.
(The
shaved
look
has
been
acheived
by
some
remarkable
make
up.)
The
director
says
that
The
Desire
is
essentially
a
passionate
film
dealing
with
dance,
music,
art,
culture
and
emotions.
It
revolves
around
accomplished
Odissi
dancer
Goutami
(Shilpa)
and
talented
artist
Jai
Leang
(Xia
Yu),
following
the
journey
of
their
lives
until
they
are
separated
and
brought
together
again
by
destiny.
Also
in
the
cast
are
Jayapradha,
Anupam
Kher,
Sachin
Khedekar,
Sheetal
Menon
and
Nakul
Vaid.
Indian
music
maestro
A.R.
Rahman
will
score
music.
Expected
to
grace
theatres
in
December
2009,
The
Desire
will
be
dubbed
in
Chinese
as
well.