Mohite was wary of projecting Sai as mother in 'Guru Pournima'

Panaji: Director Girish Mohite, whose Marathi film 'Guru Pournima' hit the screens last weekend, said they had initially hidden the fact from audience that the movie's lead Sai Tamhankar is also playing a mother in it.

"To present Sai (Tamhankar) in the role of a mother was risky. She has been looked at as a glamorous girl in the film industry. We were worried that audience might go on back-foot and the entire opening week might not go well," Mohite told reporters.

The film, starring Upendra Limaye and Sulabha Arya, has Sai playing double role of a mother and daughter. Mohite admitted that the film's promotion had systematically avoided mentioning about Sai's double role till the last minute.

"We revealed about the double role only at the last minute before the actual release of the movie," said the director whose Marathi flicks, including 'Bharatiya' and 'Be Dune Saade Char', are critically acclaimed.

Shooting the double role itself was a challenge as the biggest task was to make the act look convincing, he said. "Sai has nicely played both the roles of mother and daughter. It shows her performance level," Mohite said.

The initial promotion of the film, he said, saw so many things being mistaken by the audience. "The title 'Guru Pournima' had misled people, but then we were hammering a tag line that it is 'a lovable story', so people started realising that it is a romantic movie. Again Sai signifies glamour and Upendra always has social content in his film," he said.

The director claimed that 'Guru Pournima', produced by Goa-based Meghana Manoj Caculo, has received a houseful opening in few of the centres like Pune, Nashik, Thane and Mumbai.