Post `Jhootha Hi Sahi`, I was in a sad phase: Abbas Tyrewala

Panaji: After a very successful directorial debut ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’, Abbas Tyrewala`s second venture ‘Jhootha Hi Sahi’ was a disappointment and the filmmaker says the film`s failure left him heartbroken.

"It did put me in the backfoot. It was something that we had done with such great love and lot of work, lot of other people`s money and a lot of time. We brought our lives to it. When something like that does not work, your heart breaks. There is no two ways about it. You feel very heartbroken," Abbas said. ‘Jhootha Hi Sahi’ had John Abraham and Abbas`s wife Pakhi Tyrewala in lead roles and released in 2010. The director said that it was all the more difficult to cope with the failure as both his wife and he were part of the film. "It took me a while to get back on my feet. Normally what happens when a husband fails at something the wife is there to pick him up and vice versa. But if something does not work together as both of you need to protect each other. That is when it really gets difficult and it takes time to get out of it. "We went through some pretty sad times. But luckily we had a very strong bond and so we just held hands," Abbas said. Abbas, who has written the screenplay for films like ‘Maqbool’, ‘Main Hoon Na’, is currently in Goa shooting his third film ‘Mango’. Tyrewala says he has consciously stayed away from the limelight for the last three years as he now wants his film to be the centre of attention. "My previous film taught me the most important lesson in life – all you need to do is tell a good story. I no longer think in terms of being back in the spotlight. I think I am going to keep my work separate from my personal life as I don`t want to be the focus of the attention. I would rather want it to be on my movies," he said. ‘Mango’ is a co-production between Multi Screen Media, whose first release ‘Bajatey Raho’ will hit theatres on July 19, and Kaleidoscope Entertainment. Like his first film, Abbas`s upcoming venture has a fresh young cast- VJ-Turned-actor Rannvijay, ‘Kaminay’ star Chandan Roy Sanyal, singer Monali Thakur and Swara Bhaskar. The film will also mark the debut of Rannvijay`s brother Harman. "I don`t know how I would surmise the film. I like the identity `Mango` provides, first at a visual level and second at the flavour level," Abbas said. Besides ‘Mango’, Abbas has also been working on a script for the past two years and after the release of his third film, he will shift his focus back on it. "I was writing the script for the past two years. That is what I thought I was going to do when `Mango` happened out of nowhere. I thought that is my next film as I had written seven drafts. But then this cute, silly, wicked film happened. I had great fun making the movie, working with a great bunch of people and a spectacular cast," Abbas said. PTI