The weather is icy cold. New York City is swathed in snow. But Sushmita Sen is filled with warm thoughts. "I have never felt happier. I am shooting for Mahesh Manjrekar's It Rained That Night. Something special is happening here. But please don't pick on our accents. We haven't tried to Americanise our language. We speak English exactly the way our characters ought to. This is a film about female emancipation in the truest sense of the term. Like I said to the American press, I want all the guys to come and see the film just to see how it feels to be a woman. The women will definitely see the film. The guys need to be coaxed into the theatres."
It Rained That Night is the English version of Mahesh Manjrekar's Astitva. How different are the two versions? Says Sushmita, "The essential momentum of the two stories is the same. But Tabu and I are two different entities and actresses. So our treatment of the scenes is completely different. One thing I can assure you: the emotional moments are spectacular. But if you go in expecting to see Tabu's performance, I will personally shoot you."
Manjrekar asserts, "She has done such a fabulous job. We cannot compare her performance with Tabu's in Astitva. It is like trying to build another Taj Mahal. No matter how good a job you do, you can't equal that. Sushmita has treated the character very differently from Tabu. I have changed many things for It Rained That Night."
The director who plays Sushmita's husband in It Rained That Night had major differences of opinion on how to interpret some scenes. One night, when Sushmita performed an emotional sequence, Manjrekar asked for pack up. "Sushmita was understandably upset. But, the next morning, I explained to her that I wanted her to do the scenes differently from Tabu in Astitva. I had to pack up because I didn't know how to do it differently," explains Manjrekar.
Says the director, "This film will make Sushmita an international star. We are looking at the Spanish and French market also. Besides, the Hispanic audience in the US will identify with the gender issues in It Rained... Once it clicks, Sushmita's career abroad is made."
Only the climax in New York and a flashback in Darjeeling remain to be filmed. "On Tuesday, we shot a sequence at the Times Square. The look of the film is amazing. The snow, ambience and the poetry are extraordinary. Now, I will only make films in English. There is a lot of curiosity about It Rained That Night in the US. We have a letter from Miramax saying they are interested in our project. They love the script and want to see the finished product."
With the atmosphere just right for small budget, experimental films, Mahesh Manjrekar is all set to release his last production, Praan Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye, in April in India. Distributors who are normally wary of buying unconventional films are clamouring to buy this quirky satire set in a Mumbai chawl. "One thing is for sure. The usual isn't working. So we might as well make unusual films," Manjrekar asserts.