MUMBAI: Australian cricketing legend Brett Lee will star in Victory – Bollywood’s biggest cricketing film ever produced – with local production company Films and Casting TEMPLE signed as the Australian producers.
Starring alongside Lee in Victory is Australian cricketing champions Allan Border and fellow Australian cricketers Mike Hussey and Jason Gillespie. International cricket stars include Simon Jones and Saj Mahmood from England and New Zealand’s Craig McMillan, Daryl Tuffey, Nathan Astle and Martin Crowe.
“I am excited to be making my Bollywood debut in Victory and I’m hopeful playing the role of a cricketer will come naturally to me,” said Lee.
Victory is the directorial feature debut of leading TVC Director Ajit Pal. The film is being presented by one of the leading Indian production houses Adlabs and is being produced by Vivek Aggarwal and Ajit Pal for Victory Films India.
The film will commence shooting in Australia in January 2008 during the India – Australia cricket series and will feature more than 20 current and recent cricket stars from around the globe.
“This is a huge boost to Indo-Australian film trade and follows the success of Heyy Babyy and the anticipated release of Love Story 2050, both of which were shot in Australia” said the films Australian producer, Anupam Sharma of Films and Casting TEMPLE who has worked on over 150 Indo-Australian film and media projects.
“Having the Victory team choose Australia as the location to shoot the biggest cricket film ever confirms this country as the most favoured and film friendly destination for the biggest film industry in the world – Bollywood,” added Sharma.
Anu’s Indian producer Vivek Aggarwal, is equally excited about Victory and the choice of Australia as its location, “This is a complex and ambitious project but Australia was the natural choice. Not only because of the film friendly culture but also because India and Australia share such a strong passion for cricket.”
The lead actor is Harman Baweja who recently shot his debut futuristic film Love Story 2050 set in South Australia. The film also features Anupam Kher, Amrita Rao, and Gulshan Grover among others.
