British-Asian Actress Fagun Thakrar stars in 'Bhopal' film
10th September 2010

British Indian actress Fagun Thakrar stars alongside Hollywood stars Martin Sheen & Mischa Barton in the forthcoming film 'Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain', based on the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak. Thakrar, who found fame in the BBC's 'BollyIdol' acting search in 2005, plays Rekha the role of a young woman widow who carries the emotional weight of the loss of her husband who was one of the first one to be killed on that fatal night. The film folows the interwoven stories of people in India and US as they face dilemmas of life time in the months leading to the biggest Industrial disaster in human history that claimed 10,000 innocent lives within a few hours.

Bhopal – A Prayer for Rain [2010]
Director:Ravi Kumar
Writers:Ravi Kumar and David Brooks

On the night of 3rd December 1984, Union Carbide’s tank no. 610 released 40 tons of lethal gas into the surrounding slums in Bhopal, Central India. By the morning 10,000 people lay dead. The Carbide plant was owned by the American multinational company.

Bhopal – Prayer for Rain film follows a young rickshaw-puller’s as he gets a menial job in Union Carbide plant. But his life and those of others change as American bosses start cutting costs in the loss making factory. On the fateful night, People of Bhopal dies in the disaster, while the American bosses at Union Carbide refuse to take any responsibility.

Martin Sheen plays The Carbide chairman and Mischa Barton plays a glossy magazine journalist visiting Bhopal. Kal Penn is the real-life tabloid journalist in Bhopal who tried to expose the dangers of Union Carbide. Fagun Thakrar plays Rekha, the role of a young woman widow who carries the emotional weight of the loss of her husband who the first one to be killed during the Union Carbide gas leak.

The American bosses gave away $300 to each victims family and walked away from Bhopal — where the water is still contaminated. For the first time in 26 years a film crew has been allowed inside the rotting chemical plant and were given access to confidential and improtant information regardign the incident. The story of the biggest Industrail disaster in the world has never been told and with the new information unearthed by the film makers, many are predicting that this is likely to be most controversial and high profile film coming from India after Slumdog Millionaire.

About Fagun Thakar

Early in her career Fagun Thakrar beat thousands of Britain’s hopefuls in the BBC’s 2005 search ‘BollyIdol’ for new acting talent. At the age of 16 the national network ITV did a segment on her and she was picked out for the lead in the short film ‘Brick Lane’ (not to be confused with the 2007 feature film 'Brick Lane', based on Monica Ali's award-winning book, which starred Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee). Ironically, Chatterjee also stars in 'Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain', playing the part of Leela.

Fagun temporarily put her acting career on hold to study at University College London (UCL). But with a love for acting, she also trained at the highly acclaimed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Upon graduating Fagun appeared in numerous commercials across the world including Europe, the Middle East and India for well loved-brands like ‘IBM’, ‘Vodophone’ and ‘L’Oreal’. She played lead roles in theatrical production like Phoebe in ‘As You Like It’, Hermia in ‘A Mid Summer Nights Dream’ and Juliet in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and starred in Bollywood films ‘Love Aaj Kai’, ‘Prem’ and ‘Kings Cross’.