Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Bollywood director plans film on murdered UK girl

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A Bollywood filmmaker plans to make a film about a British teenager murdered at one of Goa's famed beaches, but a lawyer said the family was afraid the script could deviate from the truth.


Scarlett Keeling, a 15-year-old British girl, was raped and murdered at Goa's Anjuna beach in February, triggering criticism of the police and highlighting the lack of safety for tourists in India.


The new film, "Rave Party", will have song and dance sequences on Goa's pristine beaches, and will include a scene depicting the last few minutes of Keeling's life when police say she was raped and left to die in the shallow waters.


"It will be a Bollywood film with a tinge of reality as I want people to come to the theatres and learn from the film," Prabhakar Shukla, the film's director told Reuters from Mumbai.


Two people have been arrested in the case. One has been released on bail, prompting Fiona MacKeown, mother of the dead teenager, to push for a federal police investigation.


Keeling's death highlighted the easy availability of drugs, especially at Anjuna beach where Keeling's body was found.


Police say Keeling's attackers confessed that the teenager was high on alcohol, ecstasy, LSD and cocaine, when she was raped.


"Everyone should learn and see what is happening to tourists in Goa," Shukla said by telephone.