The daring new poster to the movie 'Lihaaf' (The Quilt) has been unveiled.

'Lihaaf' is the latest movie from directer Rahat Kazmi who is known for his hard-hitting films and storyline based on Kashmir.

Lihaaf has received a backing from Oscar winning producer of "No Man's Land" and BAFTA nominated “Lunch Box”, Marc Baschet.

Marc Baschet will be co-producing Lihaaf alongside Indian producers of the film.

The poster for the film was unveiled by Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai at India Pavilion on 12 May in the Cannes Film Festival.

“Lihaaf” does not have the typical Bollywood flavour and storyline but an offbeat film that deals with same-sex relationship.

The film is based on an eminent Urdu novelist Ismat Chughtai's most celebrated yet most controversial story “Lihaaf”.

Marc Baschet said, “I first heard the story of Lihaaf (The Quilt) when I met Namita in the film bazaar in Goa in November last year. I was struck by the theme of the story and decided to follow the development of the film as a mentor.

"Golda, who also heard the narration from Namita in Goa was happy to be a consultant to this team.

"Apart from the story, I was also very impressed with this young team of professional film makers who bring such sensitive, delicate stories to life on the big screen. I am very happy to be part of a film with such a strong theme with universal appeal."

Tannishtha Chatterjee best known in the west for BAFTA nominated Brick Lane and many other international productions has played the role of Ismat Chugtai.

Sonal Sehgal, who was last seen in Mantostaan, plays the character of Begum and is also the co-writer of the film alongside Rahat Kazmi. Namita Lal is the love interest for Begum (Sonal) whilst Shoib Nikash Shah plays Manto, who was earlier seen and acclaimed for Mantostaan.

The story itself is a narrative of a true event in the life of Ismat when she was in her teens and stayed in a feudal family for a short while.

Rahat Kazm said, “Lihaaf (The Quilt) looks at an emotional and physical relationship of a neglected woman (Begum) with her lady masseur borne from a suffocating feudal environment as seen through the eyes of a teenager (Ismat).

"In her innocence, she cannot even make sense of it. But her story becomes a powerful critique of the contemporary society of rich land owing men lost in the pursuit of their male- centric pleasures to the utter neglect of their women folk, who then sought their joys from their female company.”

Ashish Wagh from Indian film studios added, “The story of Lihaaf remains relevant even today. We are still battling with irrational rejection of same-sex love.”