'Apartment': on perils of sharing room with strangers

Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) Director Jagmohan Mundhra, who has always portrayed real-life issues in his film, is now making "Apartment" on the risks of sharing apartment with strangers, a common phenomenon in Mumbai.

" 'Apartment' is a contemporary story, set in today's Mumbai, where life is fast paced. You have people coming in every day in the city of Mumbai, not knowing where they would stay because of the space crunch and the steep real estate prices. Therefore, they share rooms with complete strangers," Mundhra told IANS.

"It's not a horror film. It's not fear of the unknown; it's a fear of the known. It's a thriller," said Mundhra.

"Apartment" is based on a girl who comes from a small town.

Preeti Sengupta (Tanushree Dutta) is an airhostess living in with her boyfriend Karan Malhotra (Rohit Roy).

Preeti is possessive and has issues with trust. When she suspects her boyfriend to be unfaithful, she throws him out of the house but soon realizes she can't afford the payment of the apartment on her own.

Neha Bhardwaj (Neetu Chandra), a small-town girl comes and asks for accommodation. Very impressed by her simplicity, Preeti believes she has found a perfect roommate. Slowly things begin to go wrong.

Actor Anupam Kher plays a pivotal role in the film.

Mundhra, whose films "Provoked: A True Story" and "Bawander" got critical acclamation, got inspired to make this film by the strugglers he bumps into regularly in cafés.

"Actually for a long time...for six, eight months, whenever I visited Lokhandwala Café Coffee Day or Barista, I came across lots of aspirant actors and actresses looking for sharing apartments. It struck me that in today's Mumbai, where space is such a problem, most youngsters struggling in town are working in call-centres, or as airhostesses, as actors or actresses. They can't afford their own place; so they share it. That's one of the biggest issues among youngsters here," said Mundhra.

Mundhra is planning to make a film on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but he is yet to get permission from the Congress party.

"It is still on hold. The script is wonderful; I hope one day I will get the permission from the Congress party to make the film. I think they are no longer apprehensive about my intentions," said Mundhra.

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