About ten years ago, Sony Razdan Was working on his second directorial ‘Love Affair’. Her first film as a director ‘Najar’, released in 2005, written by her husband and renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and produced under her brother Mukesh Bhatt’s banner Special Films, ‘Love Affair’ was a completely different proposition. Pooja Bhatt, Mahesh’s elder daughter from her first marriage to Kiran Bhatt, is co-producing the film with Bhushan Kumar’s T-series under the production company Fish Eye Network Pvt Ltd. However, the project never hit the screens.
sony Razdan’s ‘Love Affair’ featured Ali Fazal and Kalki Koechlin
Sony even started the pre-production of ‘Love Affair’ in Ooty. The film was based on the infamous Nanavati murder case of 1959 and boasted an impressive cast, with Ali Fazal as Nanavati, Kalki Koechlin as her wife and Chandan Roy Sanyal as lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The film also featured Gulshan Devaiah, Hansika Motwani and Sony himself in lead roles.
Soni Razdan reveals how Akshay Kumar’s ‘Rustom’ derailed his Nanavati film
Speaking to Screen in an exclusive interview, a frustrated Sony said, “Unfortunately, this happens with films.” Sony came painfully close to rolling the camera before things fell apart. “I was three weeks away from the shoot, and things went awry with the budget for some reason, which obviously I can’t say. Then it didn’t happen, and Rustom came out. When they did Rustom, I said it’s not the right time,” recalls Soni, referring to Tinu Suresh Desai’s hit period, which was also the Nantiva murder case. Inspired by real-life naval officer KM Nanavati, the film starred Akshay Kumar in the lead role.
Soni Razdan still hopes to one day direct her Nanavati
Despite ‘Love Affair’ never hitting the screens, Soni never gave up on his directorial ambitions. The film remains close to his heart and he is determined to bring it to life at the right time “I still want to make that film because it was a very, very good perspective from a woman’s story, from a wife’s story. It was a film about three people, and we followed the story very closely. And one day, when the time is right, it will happen,” said Soni.
About the Nanavati murder case and its screen transformation
The Nanavati murder case is about a naval officer who killed his wife’s lover. The case has inspired many movies and shows over the years. RK Nair produced Yeh Raste Hai Pyaar Ke in 1963, starring Ashok Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Leela Naidu. Gulzar also produced a film based on the case in 1973 called ‘Achnaak’, starring Vinod Khanna, Om Shivpuri and Lily Chakraborty.
Soni Razdan played the role of Mehra Nanavati in ‘The Verdict- State Vs Nanavati’.
Later, PN Menon also made a Malayalam film called ‘Aastram’, based on the same incident, starring Bharatha Gopi, Mammootty and Jyoti. After ‘Rustam’ became a hit. Ekta Kapoor ALTBalaji and produced a web series titled ‘The Verdict – State vs Nanavati’ for ZEE5. This is the first adaptation to use real names from case. Manav Kaul played the role of Nanavati in the series. Ella Abram as his wife, and Viraf Patel as his lover. Interestingly, Soni Razdan also played the role of Mehra Nanavati in the series.
