A'bad realtor forays into Hollywood

AHMEDABAD: A troubled Ahmedabad-based realty company is gearing up to send shivers down the spines of global audiences with a HOLLYWOOD horror flick – Hidden.

Starring Hollywood teen idol of yesteryears Christopher Atkins, whose on-screen romance adventure with Hollywood beauty Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon created box-office success in 1980, the flick also stars two former Miss Malaysia beauty pageant winners - Erra Fazira and Elaine Daly and Indian model Shawar Ali.

Shot in Malaysia, the English movie is on the editing table in Mumbai and is slated for a global release by December 2008. Hidden has been jointly produced by Bengali producer Tabun Sutradhar's N'Six Entertainment and Ahmedabad-based production house, Ozone Film Production, promoted by Harshad Vaghela of Labh Constructions, Ahmedabad.

Vaghela was a prominent developer of the nineties who built residential schemes like Sarjan, Shilalekh, Shiromani and Sun City, but saw his dream run cut short in the late nineties after the realty slump left him saddled with debts.

When contacted, Vaghela said that while the Hollywood foray was aimed at satisfying his interest in creative pursuits, he was keen on making a comeback in the real estate business.

"We are in the process of settling our financial liabilities in the realty business, which I don't want to leave as it is my bread and butter," said the developer-turned-producer, who refused to divulge the budget of the film.

Sources said the film would be released in Malaysia, followed by Indonesia, India, US and Europe and would be dubbed in nearly eight languages, including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. "We wanted to make a film on a small budget but with a global appeal," he explained.

Incidentally, Labh Constructions, which is listed on the BSE and NSE, was last traded in September 2000.