Lioness | |
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Directed by | Kajri Babbar |
Written by | Kajri Babbar |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Music by | Khatija Rahman |
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Lioness is an upcoming British-Indian film directed and written by Kajri Babbar. The film will centre around two British-Punjabi women living in England a century apart. One of the stories is based on the life of Sophia Duleep Singh, the Princess of Punjab and one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the United Kingdom, and will be portrayed by Paige Sandhu. The other focuses on married immigrant Mehak, who lives in Southall in the 1990s, portrayed by Aditi Rao Hydari.
Peter Bance, a Sikh historian who did research into Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, inspired the project and it will be the first co-production between the National Film Development Corporation of India and the British Film Institute.
Mehak uncovers a fascinating story of women's emancipation and empathy in contemporary times. The two stories play out in different eras, highlighting grit, determination and compassion.
— Description of the film released by the production companies. [1]
Lioness was announced on 23 May 2023. It will be the first co-production between the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and the British Film Institute (BFI). Peter Bance, a Sikh historian who did research into Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, inspired the project. Writer and director Kajri Babbar will make her feature film debut on Lioness, with the producer team consisting of Vivek Rangachari, Vaishalli Paatil, Faraz Ahsan and Clare Cahill. Researcher Bance, joined by Ajit Pal Singh, will act as executive producers. [3]
The two central cast members were announced on 23 May 2023. [4] Paige Sandhu was confirmed to be in the role of historical figure Princess Sophia, the Princess of Punjab, goddaughter of Queen Victoria and a key figure in the suffragette movement in the UK. [5] Aditi Rao Hydari was announced as Mehak, a fictional immigrant living in Southall in the 1990s. [6] Sandhu described it as "an honour and a dream" to be portraying someone with an important legacy. [7] Hydari was drawn to the project due to the storytelling of two extraordinary women. She said that despite Princess Sophia being a true heroine, her character was equally as strong. [7]
Emmerdale is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.
Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI, or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, the only child of Maharani Jind Kaur.
Raj Babbar is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the state President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
A lioness is a female lion.
Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh was a prominent suffragette in the United Kingdom. Her father was Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, who had lost his Sikh Empire to the Punjab Province of British India and was subsequently exiled to England. Sophia's mother was Bamba Müller, who was half German and half Ethiopian, and her godmother was Queen Victoria. She had four sisters, including two half-sisters, and three brothers. She lived at Hampton Court Palace in an apartment in Faraday House given to her by Queen Victoria as a grace-and-favour home.
Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. Born into the Tyabji–Hydari family, she made her film debut with the Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006). She went on to have supporting roles in several Hindi films, including the dramas Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011) and Rockstar (2011), the horror film Murder 3 (2013), the thriller Wazir (2016), and the period drama Padmaavat (2018).
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Peter Bance is a Sikh historian, author, art collector and Maharaja Duleep Singh archivist. His grandfather emigrated to the UK in the 1930s.
British Punjabis are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose heritage originates wholly or partly in the Punjab, a region in the Indian subcontinent, which is divided between India and Pakistan. Numbering 700,000 in 2006, Punjabis represent the largest ethnicity among British Asians. They are a major sub-group of the British-Indian and British Pakistani communities.
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Leanna Cavanagh is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Mimi Slinger. Leanna is introduced as the troublesome daughter of Liam Cavanagh when producers made the decision to explore Liam's character. Since making her first appearance on 6 March 2018, her storylines in the soap have included her numerous rivalries with her father's partners, her friendship and eventual rivalry with Gabby Thomas, and her on-off relationship with Jacob Gallagher. The character is killed off in the episode airing on 8 July 2021 when she is murdered by Meena Jutla.
Meena Jutla is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paige Sandhu. Details surrounding her casting and Meena's characterisation were announced in September 2020 alongside that of two other new characters as part of what Emmerdale described as a "big autumn shake-up". She was introduced as the estranged sister of Manpreet Sharma and arrives in the fictional village with the intention of reconciling her relationship with Manpreet. Upon her casting, Sandhu described her character as irresponsible, apathetic, unreliable, wild and intelligent. She later revealed that Meena's backstory involves her often being ignored by her parents in favour of Manpreet, which led to Meena having sex with Manpreet's husband Dennis, which led to their marriage breaking down, as well as her relationship with her sister.
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