Soha Ali Khan hates the rains and thinks Kunal Deshmukh is sadistic to make a movie like Tum Mile

Like your character in Tum Mile, you also suffered an ordeal during the July 26 cloudburst in Mumbai. How much of that did you incorporate into your role?
Though the environment of Tum Mile sets in Bhandup was a controlled one, it was as bad. Kunal Deshmukh, the director, is a sadist to have created a set like this. The water was high enough to be able 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 on-screen, all I had to do was react. The emotions flowed easily after that.

But 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 was 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. My mind was preoccupied in 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 in 2005. Doesn’t Tum Mile come a tad late?
Tum Mile is chiefly a romantic movie so I hope people connect with the emotions. Also, I feel that this subject isn’t time-bound since we continue to be vulnerable to similar calamity because we continue to be ill-equipped to deal with it. I know that Kunal wanted to make this movie before Jannat but could not convince anyone to do it.

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