Actor-producer Sohum Shah, who launched a film story hunt, taken by surprise as ideas on same sex romance pour in from small towns

Earlier this month, Sohum Shah, who was last seen in the critically acclaimed Talvar, launched a nationwide search for story ideas, the best of which would be developed by writers of his production house for a film. To his surprise, the actor-producer received over 1400 entries from various parts of the country, but what struck him was that most ideas from smaller towns revolved around homosexual relationships.

Says a source, "Sohum is open to experiment. While same sex romance is still a taboo in metro cities, people in smaller towns have been able to pen their thoughts on the subject rather beautifully. Most entries on this subject have Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir."

Sohum says that the response has given him an insight into popular experiences. "The response has surpassed my expectations. We have got stories on same sex romances from smaller towns. We have also got ideas on absurd comedies, a genre which I love. We were expecting far more original and interesting stories to come to us. This search has given us an insight into what people in various parts of India are experiencing and the subjects they would want to see on the big screen."