Prem Soni on his return after eight years with 'Laila Manju': "I was in severe depression"

Writer-director Premi Soni is making a comeback with Laila Manju after eight years of break. He previous helmed Main Aur Mrs. Khanna (2009) and Ishkq In Paris (2013). His upcoming movie is touted as India’s first mainstream film on drag culture. It features Balika Vadhu fame Shashank Vyas, Abhimanyu Tomar and Miss India Diva 2018 Neha Chudasam, in their big-screen debut. Read to know the director had to say about his return and more.

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Prem Soni on his return with Laila Manju

In a recent interview with a daily, Prem Soni opened up about his return in the industry. He said that since he is coming back after a long time, it was important that his film offers a novel idea. He stated that it is India's “first mainstream drag” feature film. The writer mentioned that unfortunately, there is not much awareness about the subject in India. The drag culture has been embraced in the West, where they have stand-up comedians, singers, and performers.

RuPaul with his appearances and the popular reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race brought global attention to the community. The culture is slowly catching pace in India with Keshav Suri's Kitty Su hosting local and international drag performers, in its attempt to encourage inclusivity. Premi Soni said that the idea is to tell the audience that anyone cannot discriminate basis one's skin colour or sexual preference or style of dressing. He mentioned that for long, homosexuality was not considered 'normal' when in fact, people who carry this prejudice are the ones who need to shed our layers of conflict.

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IMAGE SOURCE: PR HANDOUT

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Premi Soni narrated his untold story about his past eight years. He said that he battled depression after his films Main Aur Mrs. Khanna and Ishkq in Paris did not receive a favourable response at the box office. The filmmaker mentioned that he was in severe depression and went through a suicidal phase, post-2013. He noted that these eight years were tough for him. So many people came up to him and said, 'Your career is over. You can't rebuild it now.' He stated that he went through so many rejections and people stopped talking to him.

Prem Soni added that people did not even have the “compassion to understand” that if a film does not work, it does not mean that the person is not talented. He mentioned that even after 14 years in the industry, he has not been accepted there and said that it could be because his films did not work, or because he is an outsider. The filmmaker stated that the only person who supports outsiders is Salman Khan and he is thankful to him for his support.

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Laila Manju cast also includes Iulia Vântur, Jimmy Sheirgill, Farida Jalal, Niki Aneja Walia, Rajit Kapur and Mahesh Manjrekar in pivotal roles. It will shed light on the LGBTQIA+ community. The release date of the movie is yet to be revealed.