Soha Ali Khan hates the monsoon and thinks Kunal Deshmukh is a sadist to make a movie like Tum Mile based on the Mumbai floods

You too suffered an ordeal during the 2005 floods in Mumbai. How much of that experience did you incorporate into your character in Tum Mile?
The Tum Mile sets had a controlled environment, but they were as bad as flooded Mumbai. The director Kunal Deshmukh is a sadist to have created a set like that. The water was deep enough to submerge cars and rickshaws. There were no rafts so, every day, my driver would carry me on his shoulder and deposit me on the spot where we were to shoot. Since there was little difference between my real-life experience and what we were to project onscreen, all I had to do was react. The emotions flowed easily after that.

Your character Sanjana finds love in such hostile circumstances. Would you have been as vulnerable?
We’ve heard of people who found love during the floods. Maybe it is because every emotion gets magnified in challenging circumstances. But I doubt I’d have felt anything but the desire to get back home as soon as possible. I was just trying to get myself out of the situation. Personally, I hate the monsoon — the weather is humid and everything around you is mucky and dirty. To me, sunshine is romantic.

The flood happened four years ago. Isn’t Tum Mile a little too late?
Tum Mile is chiefly a romantic movie so I hope people connect with the emotions. Also, I feel the subject isn’t time-bound since we continue to be vulnerable to a similar calamity because we are still ill-equipped to deal with it. I know that Kunal wanted to make this movie before he did Jannat, but could not convince anyone to do it. Also, at that point I guess no one was willing to put the kind of money Tum Mile required. It has worked now since Kunal has proved himself with Jannat.

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