Jackie Shroff to Headline Singapore-France-India Co-Production ‘Slow Joe,’ Deal Signed at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)
25.05.2022 - 17:01
/ variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Jackie Shroff (“Sooryavanshi”) will play the lead in Singapore-France-India co-production “Slow Joe,” it was revealed at the Cannes Film Market.Shroff will play the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, known as Slow Joe, a former heroin addict and drug dealer who was born in Mumbai, was disowned by his family, heartbroken at 50 and who moved to Goa and cleaned up. On a trip to Goa in 2007, Lyon-based French musician Cédric de la Chapelle met Joe, now a frail 64-year-old who was making ends meet as a hotel room broker. Joe, also a poet and musician, sang for de la Chapelle, who was captivated by his voice and recorded some of his a cappella songs.Back in France, de la Chapelle played Joe’s songs for music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod of Horizon Musiques, who was also entranced.
Over trips to Goa, de la Chapelle and Joe set up the music group Slow Joe & The Ginger Accident. The songs arranged by the group were played for Jean-Louis Brossard, director of the Transmusicales, one of the biggest French music festivals, at Rennes. As a result, Joe went to France and the group performed at the 2009 Transmusicales, which was a big success.
In 2011, Slow Joe & The Ginger Accident released their first album “Sunny Side Up,” and the success of the album was reflected by a sell-out tour of France, followed by Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium and India. In 2014, when Joe was 71, a second album, “Lost for Love,” was released to critical acclaim. By early 2016, the group had performed at over 250 concerts.
In May 2016, when Joe was 73, he had a fatal heart attack. “Let Me Be Gone,” the group’s third album was released posthumously, in Feb. 2017.The project will be an English,
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