Taraporevaala to direct Siddharth Roy’s ‘Ballet Boys’

MUMBAI: Siddharth Roy Kapur is set to back film “Ballet Boys”, the real-life story of two slum boys from Mumbai who take on international ballet. The film will be helmed by acclaimed director Sooni Taraporevala, who earlier made a VR documentary on the subject for Anand Gandhi’s Memesys Lab. The movie traces back the journey of Amiruddin Shah and Manish Chauhan, their Israeli-American mentor Yehuda Maor and their families, who triumphed over their circumstances by making their way to prestigious global ballet institutes like London’s Royal Ballet Academy and the Oregon Ballet Theatre.

Taraporevaala said she is looking forward to narrate the “emotionally driven” story of the boys with Kapur. The director-producer duo reunites after “The Namesake”, which was co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures. “I have always admired Sid’s filmography and his drive to tell stories that matter. I hope this collaboration will successfully bring to light the incredible and emotionally driven journey of the boys and their teacher and the fact that talent has no boundaries. We just need to recognize it as sometimes it’s found in the most unlikely of places,” she said in a statement.

Kapur added he is excited for the project as the director, who has also penned the story, has done a stellar job with the script. “I am very excited about bringing this wonderful and inspiring story to the screen, and thrilled to have Sooni write and direct it. I have always admired her writing, and she has outdone herself with the superb script she has written on the ‘Ballet Boys’.”  Mayur Puri has written the dialogues and Sachin-Jigar has composed the music.

With choreography by Shiamak Davar and ballet sequences have by Yehuda Maor and Cindy Jourdain, the film is currently in pre-production. It will go on the floors in January and hit the screen in 2020. PTI