Shakeela trailer: Richa Chadha as an adult star in a roller coaster journey

The first trailer of Richa Chadha-starrer Shakeela is out. The over two-minute trailer gives an honest account of how a young girl from a modest Indian home is forced to become an adult star, but one who keeps her conscience clean, no matter who the adversary.

The trailer opens with news reports of legendary ’90s adult star Silk Smitha’s untimely death by suicide. Questions are raised as to who would fill the void. The next few montages establish Shakeela’s lower middle class existence and how she had no aspirations beyond marriage. However, fate had willed otherwise; the untimely death of her father leads to her family moving to the city to seek better lives. At one point her mother tell her - ‘iss shehr mein agar rehna hai toh mujhe sadak pe bikna hoga ya tujhe pardeh par (if we have to survive in this city then either I have to sell my body or you have to do the same onscreen).” 

The next few montages give us a glimpse of Shakeela the temptress. Soon, we are introduced to Pankaj Tripathi’s character - the scheming, womanising super star with an eye for spotting nubile newcomers. Soon, all matters of politeness are thrown out of the window as her clout over the box office shows no signs of abetting. The trailer ends with Shakeela confronting Pankaj’s character Salim: ‘Maine joh bhi kia, khule aam kiya, purdeh ke saamne, kisi ko dhokha nahin dia. Kisi pe zabardasti nahin hai ki woh meri picture aa ke dekhe (Whatever I have done, I did it openly, I did so onscreen, I did not cheat anyone. No one was forced to watch my films.)”

Shakeela, for the uninitiated, was an adult star of the early 2000s, who worked primarily in the South Indian film industries. At one time, she seriously challenged the might of the biggest stars of the day. The movie will show the trails and tribulations of Shakeela’s life, who despite her conservative Muslim background rose to become a star in the adult film industry.