Prem Raj Soni to make an Indo-Turkish project based on the bestseller Sand & Sea – Exclusive | Hindi Movie News

Director of movies like Main Aur Mrs Khanna (Salman Khan-Kareena Kapoor) and Ishkq In Paris (Preity Zinta), Prem Raj Soni is gearing up for an ambitious International project based on a bestselling book named Sand & Sea – Footprints In The Sand. This project is going to be a collaboration between India and Turkey, and Prem Soni intends to make this film on a grand scale. Speaking to ETimes, the senior filmmaker spills the beans on his dream project.

Having shot your first Indo-Turkish project with the music video Woh Beetey Din, what are you working on next?

There’s an author named Ms Ann D’Silva who is an Indian-origin woman from the corporate world. She migrated to Turkey some time ago because of her calling and it was a leap of faith. My next project is based on her book titled Sand & Sea – Footprints in the Sand. It is one of the bestsellers right now. I bought the rights to the book around 10 months ago after I got a chance to read it. It is one of the most unusual stories I’ve come across and I thought it should be told in a film format. The rights are with my company Prem Raj Pictures which also has a setup in Turkey. This is going to be an international project with an international cast. There’s an amalgamation of some big names from the Turkish film industry and along with Indian actors.

What inspired you from this book to adapt it into a film?
This story is unusual in a lot of ways. When someone reads the book, they will understand what I am trying to say. There was this girl who went through serious self-doubt and depression post her divorce and how through a medium she realized that she has a connection with the land of Turbans. And till the time she does not reach that place, her story cannot be complete, and she will not find solace to move on with her life. It’s about this east Indian catholic girl who goes to Turkey and how she changes the course of her life. It is very interesting. It is predominantly a love story and it is going to have a Turkish actor paired with an Indian actress.

Are you planning to cast an A-list actress for the lead?

I already have A-list Turkish actors. We would like to cast someone who believes in this project considering it is going to be in multiple languages, including English. It is going to cater to a world market whereas Turkey is concerned along with the far east and India. This collaboration will be very important for India and Turkey as countries too.

Right now, the Indian film industries are in a state of uncertainty. There’s no general consensus on what content is going to work. How will your dream project fit in?

I think this is just a phase. Also, it’s a huge change, because post the pandemic, people have started valuing meaningful content a lot more as they’ve learnt to value their own lives. So, anything pretentious or not going down deep by telling different stories has no buyer today. It’s important what content we pick up. We need to have a shift in our mindset to tell stories that have some meaning.