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After Hate Story, Paoli Dam's next is on wife-swapping
After Hate Story, the film about a woman who becomes a sex worker to get even with the man who wronged her, Paoli Dam is embarking upon yet another film with a bold subject.
Producer-director Vikram Bhatt is now making a film titled Love Games on wife-swapping with his Hate Story lead actress.
Bhatt, who has been researching on the subject, has some startling statistics on the subject.
'There are websites devoted to wife-swapping'
"You'd be surprised to know how many urban couples indulge in it. It's prevalent, almost rampant in the big cities. Go on the internet. There are websites devoted to wife-swapping. That's what we've come to know," says Bhatt.
"I want to explore the thought process behind the whole thing. How does a man tell his wife to go and sleep with his friend and how does the wife give consent to her husband's sexual tryst with another woman?
"More importantly, how do the husband and wife look at each other in the eye the morning after? These are questions that haunt me," he says.
'Paoli has the courage to go beyond her body on camera'
The filmmaker refrains from commenting on Abbas-Mustan's 2001 thriller Ajnabee that touched upon wife-swapping but says that he enjoyed Rajat Kapoor's Mixed Doubles.
"That was a light take on wife-swapping. Mine would be far more dark and probing," Bhatt says.
Bhatt adds he chose Paoli for the new film because she's not self-conscious in front of the camera.
"Paoli has the courage to go beyond her body on camera. That's where I want to go with Love Games."
'My character won't resemble the one in Hate Story'
When asked about her sexually-charged roles and how it would impact her image and career in Bollywood, Paoli shrugs, "Love Games is another bold film, I agree. But Vikram and I are working on my character. I can assure you I won't be doing anything predictable. My character won't resemble the one in Hate Story."
Refuting reports that her family and boyfriend in Kolkata are upset with her daring act, the actress says, "First of all I am single. As far as my parents are concerned, they don't react to such things."
'Wife-swapping can be traced back to our mythology'
Apparently, the entire Dam family is quite cool with their daughter carving an unorthodox career route for herself.
As for wife-swapping, Vikram says, "The practice can be traced back to mythology."