Mira Nair unveils first look of comeback film 'Amri'

Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair has unveiled the first look of her upcoming film "Amri", a biopic based on celebrated Hungarian-Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil, known for her bold artistic style and unconventional life.

The film marks Nair's return to feature filmmaking and is being described as one of her long-cherished projects. The director is widely known for acclaimed works, including "Salaam Bombay!", "Monsoon Wedding", "The Namesake" and "A Suitable Boy".

According to a statement issued by the producers today (12 May), Amri traces Sher-Gil's journey as an artist and a woman, exploring her search for identity, defiance of social conventions, and determination to create a distinct visual language of her own.

The film will depict Sher-Gil's evolution from a young art student in Europe to one of the most influential modern painters connected to India. She was the youngest student ever admitted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and later developed a deeply personal artistic style centred on the everyday lives of ordinary Indian people.

The producers said Sher-Gil's work represented a radical aesthetic breakthrough that later influenced Nair's own visual sensibilities as a filmmaker.

Kerala-born actress Anjali Sivaraman will portray Amrita Sher-Gil in the film. The cast also includes Jaideep Ahlawat and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Speaking about the project, Nair said every film she has made over the decades has been inspired by Sher-Gil's art.

"She taught me how to see. She taught me how to see. She absorbed the best European training to distill the soul of India in a way that no one ever had. The bravery of her palette, color and framing of the ordinary people of India has eternally moved me," Nair said in a media statement.

Sher-Gil, who died at the age of 28, remains one of South Asia's most celebrated modern artists. A road in central New Delhi has been named after her in recognition of her contribution to art and culture.