"'Directing 'Poorna' was a thrill. It brought three of my greatest loves together - cinema, sport-adventure and women's empowerment," Rahul, who directed "Everybody Says I'm Fine!" in 2001, said in a statement.
The 48-year-old star says every night post shooting, he "felt the most complete sense of exhilaration."
Rahul has starred in films like "Jhankaar Beats", "Chameli" and "Dil Dhadakne Do". He says the story of "Poorna" couldn't be written more dramatically.
"'Poorna' story couldn't be written more dramatically as fiction - how this little girl overcame every adversity to stand tallest in the world is deeply moving and eye-poppingly unbelievable at the same," he added.
The film is a real life depiction of a poor girl named Malavath Poorna from Telangana who created history on May 25, 2014, by becoming the youngest girl in the world to scale Mount Everest. She was just 13 when she pitched the Indian flag at 6 a.m.
Rahul has roped in music composers Salim-Sulaiman to compose tunes for the film. "Poorna" is to release later this year.