'I hesitate to be so brash'

"I wanted a positive ending in Market to give hope to women. If the film has a negative ending, my work for NGOs would be crap!" says Manisha Koirala bluntly. The actress is not known to mince her words.

Prakash Shaw's Market sees Koirala as a sex worker for the first time. Working with non-governmental organisations to help underprivileged women has helped her understand their pain, humiliation and suffering, she claims. That, in turn, helped her prepare for the role.

Market tells the story of Muskaan (Koirala) who marries an Arab (played by Tony Mirchandani). Soon after marriage, he divorces her, leaving her to fend for herself. Poverty-stricken, Muskaan takes up prostitution. Circumstances bring the Hyderabadi girl to Mumbai where she meets college-going, high-class sex workers played by Suman Ranganathan and Shweta Menon. The three head to Dubai for dance shows where Muskaan meets her ex-husband. She then plots revenge.

"I am not inspired by Chandni Bar, Mandi or Bazaar," Shaw insists. "Chandni Bar was good and inspiring but the story involved a bar and a bar dancer. Market involves sex workers common all over the world. I am inspired by society and specifically [an incident from] the Ameena case."

Koirala says films like Mandi and Bazaar are sensitive and can never be repeated. "Chandni Bar is well made and performed but it is different from Market. I have been careful not to glamorise my role. We want to reach out to audiences. That is why the canvas is bigger, larger than life," she says.

The film was shot extensively on sets costing Rs 64 lakh in Hyderabad. The second schedule will be held in Mumbai while the climax will be shot in Dubai. It is slated for a June release.

Market sees singer Altaf Raja's debut as a composer.

Producers Atif Khan and Rama Adhikari also debut with the film. Says Atif, "We loved the story. The fact that Manisha was part of the cast was the icing on the cake. It is an ideal film to debut in. I loved Shaw's involvement. He has done a great job."

Shaw is not worried about the Censor Board. "While making the film, I did not keep the Censor Board in mind. If filmmakers did that, most good films would not be made. Since my film is based in the red light area, bad language was inevitable."

Koirala says she likes doing small films with different storylines. "Take Jism [starring Bipasha Basu and John Abraham]. I like to experiment with my roles." The actress will also be seen in Escape From Taliban, Indira Gandhi, Mehbooba, Paisa Vasool, Tanman.com and Raja Dil Ka Ghulam.

The actress, who holds Khamoshi, Dil Se, Agni Sakshi and Bombay closest to her heart, is happy about the kind of roles she is getting. "Indira Gandhi is a challenging role," she says. "It will take me three or four months to read up on the former Indian prime minister. I play an actress with a spiritual bend of mind in Tanman.com. I also loved playing a strong woman who fought for and won her rights in Escape From Taliban. Besides, the film is in English, which is the language I speak."

About her debut as a producer in Paisa Vasool, she says, "As an actress, I have an easy life. But as producer, it's quite scary. I have to be responsible and very cautious."

Koirala spoke about Indian cinema at Harvard last November. "I gave a speech about Indian cinema, the film industry and my experiences. I loved it. It felt good to talk to the students," she smiles.

Coming back to the Rs 50 million Market, Koirala said the only hitch was the foul language. "These women abuse a lot. I am not used to that. I hesitate to be so brash."

Shweta Menon says she could relate to the subject. "The fact that Chandni Bar was so successful made me accept this role. Besides, it offers a lot of scope for acting," she says.

"Some of us went to dance bars to observe these ladies," she adds. "But you really cannot understand their feelings and emotions through their dead faces. I tried. We saw how customers react to dance girls."

Suman hastens to assure us that there is no body exposure in the film, adding, "Market has a nice twist in the story. It is a hard-hitting, realistic film."