by Subhash K Jha
"Sensitive, contemplative and gentle...That's how audiences at the Toronto film festival found my film Kaal Purush to be."

Rahul Bose, just back to Mumbai from his Canadian sojourn is at peace.

"It was a very sobering and uplifting experience. There was just the director Buddhadeb Dasgupta and me (Kaal Purush leading lady Smaeera Reddy was at Rohtang Pass shooting with Vivek Oberoi, Sunny Deol and Jackie Shroff for Sachin Bajaj's film). We had two screenings on 15 and 17 September in 550 and 350 seater theatres—both filled to capacity. They loved the film Memories In The Mist at the Toronto film festival. They unanimously found it simple and true."

This was Rahul's fifth visit with a film to Toronto film festival. He still remembers going to the Festival in 1995 for the first time with Dev Benegal's English, August.

"That was in English and Kaal Purush is in Bengali...and it doesn't make a difference. Deepa Mehta's Water is in Hindi and yet audiences in Toronto loved it. Language is no longer a barrier."

Rahul is all set to do another Bengali film with Buddhadeb Dasgupta. "Kaal Purush put me in touch with emotions within me that I never knew existed."

But before that he's all set to be paired with, ahem ahem, Mallika Sherawat in Pritish Nandy Productions' romantic comedy to be directed by debutant Saket Chowdhary (who assisted Kunal Kohli on Hum Tum). It starts shooting on 21 October.

"This one is straight-off in the league of the Doris Day-Rock Hudson, Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks romantic comedies. It's the best-written script I've come across in the genre."

Is he looking forward to working with Mallika?

"Of course I am! I think she's incredibly spirited."