Berenice Bejo, who was nominated for an Oscar for her film The Artist (2011), will reportedly star opposite Dhanush in his debut Hollywood film. The film, titled The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir is directed by Ken Scott, and follows a wild storyteller from New Delhi to Paris, where he falls in love with a woman and accidentally gets deported along with a group of African refugees against his choice.
While there is no confirmation on Bejo’s role, the French-Argentine actress might play a woman named Marie Riviere whom the fakir initially swindles, but is quickly attracted to.
The movie is based on Romain Puertolas’ bestselling novel The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe which came out in 2014. It tells the story of a pilgrimage taken by a conman from India to an IKEA store in Paris.
Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi was initially roped in to direct the film and had even praised Dhanush for being the perfect choice for the role. “When you are a director, you can tell if an actor is intelligent or not. In the films of Dhanush that I have seen, he has embraced each and every role. I saw a lot of Indian actors, but once I saw Dhanush, I became obsessed with him,” she was quoted saying. But in October last year, Satrapi opted out of the project. The reasons for his departure were not disclosed.
Scott, who is a Canadian filmmaker, said that the story’s comedy drew him close to the project.
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“There’s many aspects that interested me, there’s obviously comedy, a lot of comedy, some very poetic moments. It’s the story of this magician/thief who grew up in this small neighborhood in Mumbai, India, he sets sail on this journey of self-discovery throughout Europe,” he told Variety. He also said he was excited to work with Dhanush. “He’s just very charming,” he said.
The cast includes Erin Moriarty, Barkhad Abdi, Laurent Lafitte, and Abel Jafri. According to a PTI report, it is scheduled to go on floors in May and will be shot in Mumbai, Paris, Brussels, and Rome.
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