/> Rajeev Virani, the guy who helmed the recent fiasco Bollywood Bride for producer-actress Kashmira Shah, has some reason to be proud.

His second feature film The Whisperers featuring Rahul Bose and Manoj Bajpai has won two major awards the 40th Worldfest in Houston.

The annual film festival which plays host to hundreds of new feature and documentary films from the worldover held from April 20 –29, gave Virani's film the awards for best editing (LA-based Anthony Adler) and best film in a thriller genre.

"It was the first ever screening of The Whisperers and I never expected this kind of a response. My producer Ashok Rao is from Houston. So I wasn't allowed to feel like a fish out of water."

Virani confesses it was The Whisperers he wanted to make first. "But no producer would back a thriller that had no blood and gore. So I grabbed the chance to direct another film in between."

The young director now looks forward to releasing The Whisperers in the large metros of India. "It's a cerebral thriller and therefore not likely to have a mass appeal. My producer and I know the target audience for the film and are prepared for a niche response."

About his first film Bollywood Bride Virani says, "A lot of things went wrong. But I'm not complaining. It gave me a buddy in Sanjay Suri...Just like The Whisperers has introduced me to two of the finest actors and humanbeings Manoj and Rahul. We all have worked our butts off in The Whisperers. Glad the hard work is paying off."