Initially I was talking about Rim Jhim to a lot of people and a lot of them liked the idea but at the last minute changed their mind. Some asked me to change the protagonist, change the girl into a boy and make it a hero film but I refused. A filmmaker was keen but he wanted me to reduce the role of the parents and change it into a love story, I refused again. There were times I sat down to change the story, to reduce the sorrow but it was not convincing and shut the computer. Some more months went by and then one day, out of the blue, writer Hiten Anandpara phoned to ask, ‘Do you have an original Bhawana ben we are looking for a story for our new play. We met the following week and I narrated a story close to my heart. They heard me in silence and it was evident they were not impressed. ‘Do you have another story? They asked. I narrated Rim Jhim and their eyes sparkled, ‘This is it’ they said and disappeared for four years. In January they got back and they said they were ready to roll. I did not believe them but this time it was for real.
To be continued…
@bhawanasomaaya