In 2010, Hollywood heavyweight Russell Crowe made multiple visits to India, gearing up for an ambitious project that, unfortunately, never saw the light of day. He was all set to play a middle-aged German writer who travels to the Kumbh Mela in search of moksha and unexpectedly falls in love with a 21-year-old Bengali girl.
The film, to be directed by Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Files), was planned as a bilingual, Amrit Kumbh in Hindi and In Search of Immortality in English. Crowe would have spoken English in both versions. Initially, the role was almost finalized for renowned German actor Michal Zebrowsky, known for playing a Nazi officer in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist. However, when Crowe expressed interest, the project was quickly restructured to accommodate him, given his immense global appeal.
During pre-production at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Sudipto Sen confirmed the news, stating, “Crowe is indeed on. The project explores the journey of self-discovery. I want the significance of the holy Kumbh, a sacred bathing place for eight crore pilgrims from all over the world, to connect with the West.”
The film was set to feature Paoli Dam as the young Bengali girl, while sound design and music were to be handled by Academy Award winners Resul Pookutty and A.R. Rahman. However, despite the strong pre-production efforts, the project was ultimately shelved—reportedly due to Russell Crowe’s high fee demands.
Though the film never released, it remains an intriguing ‘what could have been’ moment in the history of Indo-Hollywood collaborations.
