Indian International filmmaker Rahat Kazmi’s film Lihaaf garnered a lot of appreciation when the director along with Oscar winner Marc Baschet had revealed at Cannes this year that their film would premier at the 16th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart in Germany from July 17 to 21, 2019.
However, the surprise does not end here! Guess who is portraying the role of the young protagonist? She is none other than the teenage actress Anushka Sen who has impressed the audience with her remarkable acting on screen.
Born in the capital of Jharkhand, Anushka Sen is a sixteen-year-old pretty actress who has made her appearance in several television shows and debuted in Bollywood through Crazy Cukkad Family in 2015.
Like any other girl of her age, Anushka Sen is quite active on social media and has more than a million fan followers. She keeps experimenting with her looks, posts pictures and keeps her fans updated through Instagram and Facebook.
Anushka Sen started her career with a music video-Humko Hai Aasha directed by Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra. Thereafter, she got an opportunity to debut on a television show-Yahan Mein Ghar Ghar Kheli in 2010. Since then, she has acted in many television shows like Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev, Comedy Circus, Fear Files, Kitne Door Kitne Paas, Internet Wala Love and so on. Nevertheless, she won the hearts of the audience with her role of Meher in Baal Veer which was screened on Sony TV for four years, starting from 2012.
The young Jhansi Ki Rani had shared her experience and excitement on her Facebook handle during the making of the film. She wrote, “So lucky to play the role of young Ismat Chughtai in my upcoming film Lihaaf. Happy to be a part of this wonderful film.” She also thanked the entire team for their immense support onsets during the shooting.
A period drama, the film is based on Ismat Chughtai’s most celebrated story Lihaaf (published 1942). The film weaves the plot of a same-sex relationship between a Muslim woman and her masseuse.
The story is told from the point of view of a small girl (played by Anushka Sen) who is the niece of the protagonist, Begum Jaan. Begum Jaan has had a very depressing life after marriage. Her husband, the Nawab, was much older than her and was thought to be extremely respectable for never having any encounters with prostitutes. But it was soon revealed that it is because his interests lie in the other gender. The lonely Begum starts to wither but is saved by Rabbo, her masseuse. Rabbo is a servant girl who is not so pretty but very deft with her hands. When the narrator is left at Begum Jaan’s place by her mother, she realizes that despite her admiration for Begum Jaan, there lie many secrets with her. At night, the great shadows formed by the quilt of Begum Jaan and her odd behavior in the absence of Rabbo bring to light their hidden relationship, traumatizing the narrator.
Talking about his young star cast, Rahat Kazmi, the director of the film says, “Anushka is a wonderful actor. She is unbelievably real and we all were surprised with her stunning performance as young Chughtai. Her character demanded to be the narrator of the film as well as play the key role of a victim of circumstances.” He further added, “Her role was very significant and of utmost importance and we all were amazed to see her brilliant acting.”
The film is co-written and directed by Rahat Kazmi while the roles of protagonists are played by beautiful ladies-Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sonal Sehgal. The dedicated and hardworking team includes producer and actress Namita Lal along with Tariq Khan and Zeba Sajid. Lihaaf is set to release very soon, probably this year and no denying the fact, the entire team is all geared up and excited about it.
