It is taken from Sanskrit and can be translated in several ways. Literally, it means desire but the connection I like is: Love blinds. That is, when we want something badly, we sometimes lose perspectives.

In this case, two women who are busy helping the poor and migration populations are caught in a personal drama. The film was shot in New York. I will be sending the film to various film festivals. I am also seeking financing for a full-length feature with the same characters but with a different story.

You said while Mira Nair's The Namesake is a timeless film, your film is a post-9/11 film. Could you elaborate?

The Namesake is timeless because it functions as a story of American immigration per se -- that is, it could be about Italians in the late 19th century or Indians today. It speaks to all immigration experiences.

I am making a film that examines the state of the South Asian community today, after 9/11, when being 'brown' means something entirely different.

We brown people are a threat, whether we are doctors or cab drivers, lefty radio hosts or right-wing Congressmen. We need to deal with this newfound status collectively.

Mira Nair's The Namesake, starring Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kal Penn among others, which will be released in March, is based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel about an Indian-American family

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