/> Debutant director Mazhar Kamran is quite surprised that his film Mohandas has been chosen in the competition section of the Osian film festival.

"There're only two Hindi films in the competitive section. I didn't know how it got selected. I did enter my film. But that's it. Interestingly I'm a debutant director but my film is in the main section. I like that. I also like the fact that Asian cinema is being celebrated at the Osian film festival."

Mazhar Kamran, like a lot of technicians who work with Ram Gopal Varma, did a couple of films at 'The Factory' as a cinematographer and then moved on.

"But I never planned on becoming a cinematographer. I always wanted to be a director. I always loved cinema. And wanted to be a director. Now I feel being a cinematographer has helped me give my first directorial effort the right look and mood. Being a DOP I could think on my feet. I didn't need a mediator to translate my vision."

"Mohandas couldn't have been made with Shah Rukh Khan, " says the Satya cinematographer Mazhar Kamran about his debut film that has been selected in the competition section of the Osian film festival which opens in Delhi on July 17.

"Some films require an absolutely ordinary man-from-the-crowds face. That's why we have selected Nakul Vaid.He blends into the milieu. Certain subjects should not have a star. In fact a star would've harmed Mohandas. A filmmaker has to be honest to his subject."

Mazhar had a tough time finding a producer.

Based on a short story called Mohandas by Uday Prakash, Mazhar says he called his film after the Mahatma of the nation because of what the Mahatma once said.

"Whenever you take a step think of the repercussion it would have on the common man. Also Gandhiji always said the heart of India lies in the villages. I've shot Mohandas in a remote village of Madhya Pradesh."

Though Mazhar has made an offbeat film he doesn't disregard the Bollywood formula. "I've songs in Mohandas, though only in the background. Our cinema has such a strong tradition of music and dance."

Mazhar is hoping to release the film by October. "I hope the screening in Osian on the 17th will get it noticed."