Mumbai Mirror

Mumbai, Mar 21: Former badminton champion Prakash Padukone's daughter Deepika is all set to make her Bollywood debut. The vehicle chosen to launch the Bangalore-bred beauty is Priyadarshan's much talked-about project Pirate, on the subject of music piracy.

 Confirming the casting, the prolific Priyan says, “Pirate is about a music band and how it combats music piracy.  It's a subject that I've nurtured for a while. I wanted to get all the comedies out of  the way before  getting down to the serious stuff. But I must warn you, about sixty per cent of Pirate is funny. Only after that does the plot get seriously  thought-provoking.  After all, piracy is no joking matter. We're going to make sure the message comes across in a light, digestible way. No one wants to hear sermons.”

Priyan will be working with a lot of young, new talent for the first time. “Pirate requires five young, fresh faces – two boys and three girls,” he says.  “I've  finalised Shreyas Talpade (of Iqbal)   and Deepika for two of  the roles. I'm  searching for the right faces for the other three protagonists.”

They'll be finalised soon. I will start shooting for the film in September,” says Priyan.

Priyan is pleased with his latest comedy Malaamal Weekly. “In spite of the scathing reviews, the film is a money-maker, especially up North where the Paresh Rawal-Om Puri pair is a rage," says Priyan who hopes to release three films – the Kareena-Shahid starrer Chup Chupke, the Akshay-Govinda starrer Bhagam-Bhaag and Pirate -by year-end.

A major international co-production is also on the anvil for Priyan.