MUMBAI: The Last Lear, an English film by director Rituparno Ghosh will premiere at IFFI-2007. Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta in the lead, the film is a story of Harry – 65 year old recluse, eccentric and a passionate man.

Besides being a Shakespearean stage actor and his ardent fan, Harry’s life seems like a play after he meets Siddharth – a play replete with action, drama, love, emotions, tension – and an expected friendship. Siddharth is a new-age film director – his cool clothes and casual persona well disguise his eccentricities. He is a visionary, a visionary who would stop at nothing to get what he wants.

As opposites attract, may be life-minded people get along well too. When the cinema-ignorant Harry is offered a magnificent role in Siddharths’ next film, he is apprehensive at first, reluctant later and finally acceptable to the idea.

As the shoot takes them to the sprawling mountainous landscapes of India, new relationships bloom. Upcoming actor Shabnam, who is struggling hard to cope with her messy personal life, finds an unexpected mentor in Harry. He teaches her more than merely the nuances of acting. From being a complete outsider to the world of commercial cinema, Harry soon becomes one of them – open to learning new methods of working, chatting with the unit members and sipping tea from a fancy thermos he never knew was invented, he is enjoying!

Little does he know that as the film rolls and he gets into the skin of the character of the Joker that he is playing, he may be taking his role a bit too seriously. Is he that good an actor, or is fate really making him out to be a Joker on the set? As the intense moments unfold, which are even more engaging that the film itself, masks would be taken off a few faces. Towards the sunset of his life, long after the last shot is taken, as his memory fades, all that Harry can remember are his Master’s words.

Ghosh has 14 films to his credit most of which have won national level awards.