What Shekhar said made an impact on Sushmita Sen

It was not easy for Sushmita Sen to decide to direct her dream project on Rani Laxmibai.

She may have been missing from the silver screen for quite some time now, but much has been happening in the life of Sushmita Sen. No, we’re not talking about her alleged affair with a certain director of her upcoming film. We’re talking about Sush’s film on Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi who died fighting the British in 1857.

The character of the fearless queen has been so close to Sush’s heart that she’s been working on it for more than a year.

As Sush has disclosed, it all began with just a few pages of history on Rani Laxmibai. But as Sush did an extensive research and dug deeper into books and documents, she realized that the story of the valiant queen is waiting to be told. According to Sush, what people normally know about Rani Laxmibai accounts for just a few percent of her real story.

Interestingly, even as Sush was doing her research, she hadn’t finalized the director. She met Shekhar Kapur and offered him the project. Shekhar heard Sush out and suggested that she direct the film herself.

Shekhar argued that Sush was so close to the film that if she hired any director, he/she would not direct it as she envisions it. As a result, Sush would end up having many a disagreement with her director on the sets.

What Shekhar said made an impact on Sush. But she pondered over it for about six months before taking the decision to direct the film herself. Though she would take the help of her good friend Mudassar Aziz (who’s directed Sush in Dulha Mil Gaya ), it is Sush who would control the project as the director.

The actress is currently in the process of finalizing the cast.