Hindustan Times: Bharatbala to roll out Indo-Japanese martial arts film
Chennai-based filmmaker Bharatbala is all set to kick off an Indo-Japanese co-production, depicting a Japanese samurai's search for enlightenment which finally brings him to India. Tentatively titled The 19th Step, the film is to be shot in Japan and the southern Indian state of Kerala. It will showcase the famed martial arts form of Kerala, Kalaripayuttu, for the first time ever in a mainstream production...A big Japanese showbiz company has agreed to provide 65 percent of the film's budget...talks are currently on with three Japanese actors for the lead role of the samurai warrior. Representatives of the Japanese co-production partner are expected to make a trip to India to see how the script can be tweaked in a way that will make the film viable in Japan...more...
