Bina Kak: Back on big screen

After a hiatus of six years Bina Kak, former minister of tourism is all set to pursue her Bollywood career from where she had left, post taking on the charges of the Ministry of Tourism and Art & Culture, Rajasthan under the Ashok Gehlot government. The politician-cum-actor, who is considered to be quite close to Salman Khan and his family, has chosen to make a comeback with Muzaffar Ali's Raqs, a period film set during the era of India's first revolution of independence (1857-1877).

Kak confirms, "I am very close to both Meera and Muzzafar Ali, so when they approached me with this particular role, there was no way for me to turn down the role." She then goes on to elaborate, "This film a period drama which revolves around the love story of a Raja and courtesan. While Pakistani actor Imran Abbas Naqvi and Pernia Qureishi play the lead, I play the role of a revolutionary courtesan."

She adds, "I guess it was my perfect Urdu diction that made me the obvious choice for the courtesan's role. The film is based in Awadh and highlights the Awadhi culture, so command over the language was pre-requisite. The film has been extensively shot in Awadh and the imambaras of Lucknow. And yes, the filmmaker is also contemplating on shooting a few sequences in Jaipur sometime in September. I was very busy with my professional commitments and now that my political tenure as the minister of tourism is over, I am giving adequate time to my passion."