'I had to keep the passion alive'

Lalit Marathe, who waited for over three years to see his film -- produced by Ram Gopal Varma -- release, says he will never do a movie with him again

Lalit Marathe, who waited for over three years to see his film -- produced by Ram Gopal Varma -- release, says he will never do a movie with him again

"I knew it would happen some day," says a delighted Lalit Marathe as his directorial debut, Shabri, is finally releasing on August 26.

The confidence comes as a surprise since the Ram Gopal Varma production, featuring Eesha Koppikhar Narang as a female gangster, had been finished long back but couldn't see day light for over three years.

Eesha Koppikhar Narang in Shabri andu00a0Lalit Marathe

Reliance Entertainment, which is distributing the movie, will feature its trailers along with their film, Singham that releases today.

"The first cut was ready in 2006," Lalit says, adding that it was to release around the time Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag came out in 2007. But since then, it went into a limbo. "And when recession struck, everything changed."

Strangely, the director admits that he's still so consumed by his movie, which he believes helped him to get through many difficult times.

"I had to keep the passion alive," he says, recalling the time when his friends told him to let go. "But I was adamant. The spirit of not taking a no kept me going."

A television writer, who then turned to Bollywood to write for movies like Bhoot, Swades and Sarkar, Lalit admits, "I couldn't think of starting another movie till this one released."

Who to blame
While many have reportedly blamed RGV for the delay, Lalit stays by his mentor's side saying, "He puts his money where his heart is.

It was clear that he could see something in my script that I couldn't. In some parts, it reminded him of Ardh Satya.

He was so blown away by the rough cut that he said it's better than Satya."

So why won't he make another film with his mentor again? Lalit replies that they have done their best together. "He did whatever he could for me, I gave whatever I had to him.
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I might do a TV show with him, but certainly not a film," says the director, who seems to be done with movies for now, as he's now busy being a creative consultant for an entertainment channel.

Inspired by his experience of shooting Shabri, Lalit also got down to pen a book, titled A Dog's Friday.
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Recalling the oft-repeated quote: Every dog has its day, he explains, "In our industry, everyone waits for Friday. The process they go through to see that Friday can be satisfying or frustrating."