Nikhil Mathur, a debutant producer, chooses this topic for his feature — Pranali. “The aim is to create an awareness about it and perhaps get the authorities to take remedial steps.

Prostitution generates Rs 90,000 crores worth business annually in India. If it were legalised, imagine the revenue government can make via tax! Part of it could be used for their rehabilitation,” opines Mathur. He is an MBA specialising in financial structuring of entertainment companies and heads Haward Entertainment, the banner under which Pranali is made.

When Hirdesh Kamble, erstwhile assistant to Mahesh Bhatt and John Mathew Matthan, came up with a script about a prostitute, Mathur turned it around and asked him to adapt it to the infamous Devdasi system. Writer Manoj Pandey was promptly sent down to Rajamundri in Andhra and border towns of Karnataka to conduct a thorough research on the subject.

“A hard-hitting script evolved out of it,” says Mathur.

Nargis, who was last seen in Garam Masala was cast in the title role because it was a “performance-oriented role”. The rest of the cast also boasts of strong yet non-starry performers like Upendra Limaye and Sudha Chandran in pivotal roles.

Pranali, which translates as ‘system’, includes a taandav dance choreographed by Kathak maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj. “He accepted the film only after a full script narration. After all he was moving from Devdas to Devdasi,” says Mathur.

Another noteworthy feature of the film is that Kailash Kher’s band Kailasa debuts as music director of the film. Pranali will first be screened in the power corridors to ensure that the concerned ministry can take “action”. The film is slated to release by early April.

It’s legal here!
In Singapore, sex for money is open and commonplace.

Denmark women can be legal prostitutes so long as it is not their sole means of income. Canada, France and Mexico allow it.

Prostitutes must be contained within brothels in the Netherlands, unlike within England and Wales where prostitution is limited to individual providers. Israel, the historical stage for the Bible, allows it, too.

Meanwhile, the United States has made prostitution illegal (misdemeanor) in all states, except certain counties of Nevada.