Director Onir's debut film My Brother... Nikhil won acclaim and awards at film festivals around the world like the Milan Gay and Lesbian film festival this year. Audiences warmed up to Nikhil, an AIDS victim.

This Friday, his second film, Bas Ek Pal [Images], starring Urmila Matondkar, Juhi Chawla [Images], Sanjay Suri, Jimmy Shergill [Images] and Rehaan Engineer, releases.

Onir shares his thoughts with Patcy N. Excerpts:

What is Bas Ek Pal about?

It's about a moment of happiness, which all my characters are looking for. It is an urban emotional thriller. But it is not the whodunit kind of thriller. It revolves around a single moment that redefines the relationships of all the people and changes their understanding of the other person.

How different is it from the regular commercial movie?

It is a different kind of story, not done before. There is no fun in telling stories that other people have already told. If I don't have anything new to tell, then I might as well keep shut. So it has to be a story that excites me, a story that I feel has not been explored.

For me, Bas Ek Pal deals with complex relationships in a way that you have not seen on Indian screen -- without getting judgmental or without the typical kind of end. There are a lot of things that are unexpected in this movie, which also contribute to the thriller element.

What kind of movies do you want to make?

I want to make sensible mainstream films. As a director, I feel I should explore different genres. Otherwise, I will start stagnating as a viewer too.

I would like to make a comedy some day because if I make every film serious and intense, I may have a stroke! (laughs).

I get very involved in my films. Therefore I would like to do various kinds of films. Also planning an adventure film. But it will not be irrational. I can't have people singing and dancing around trees. I love music but only when it is used with logic. I want to try and combine the elements that I like about Bollywood with something that is more sensible and realistic.

In Bas Ek Pal, Sanjay Suri has three different looks, including one for when he is in prison.

He gets framed because of a certain incident. The three looks correspond to the inner state of a person and the transformation that he goes through as a human being.

Why do you repeat your actors?

I have just repeated two actors. But all directors repeat their cast.

For instance, Satyajit Ray had Soumitra, Karan Johar [Images] and Yash Chopra [Images] have Shah Rukh Khan [Images], David Dhawan has Govinda [Images],  Sanjay Gupta has Sanjay Dutt [Images]...

So the director and actor always share a good relationship, and you grow as a family together. Before working with Juhi Chwala on My Brother... Nikhil, I never thought of casting her in this movie. But we enjoyed working together in that film, so it struck me that it would be interesting to cast her in Bas Ek Pal too, as she had not done this type of role before. She plays a social worker but there are so many layers in her character. The first time she read the script, she was shocked and she asked, 'Am I suppose to do all this?'

As for Sanjay, I have known him for the past five years. We have been working together on different scripts trying to make my first film and he was always helping me do that. So when Bas Ek Pal was conceived, he was there in my mind right from the start. So when we did not get finance for this film, we started My Brother... Nikhil with our own finance.

Why do have the same character names like Nikhil Kapoor and Anamika in your film?

I had written Bas Ek Pal four years ago. It was my third script. My Brother... Nikhil was my sixth script. I have a tendency to forget. So when I was writing so many scripts and trying to get producers, I realised that if I give new names to all my characters in each script, at the end of the day, I will forget which script has what character name. And I will forget which character is where. So I started writing all my scripts with the same character names.

When I started making Bas Ek Pal, I became so used to the characters' names that I started calling my stars Nikhil (Suri) and Anamika (Matodnkar) and didn't want to change them. Anamika is an integral part of the script because for a large part, Nikhil doesn't know Anamika's name. So the name makes sense.

Why did you think of casting Urmila? She has been keeping a low profile lately.

It does not matter to me whether she's doing well or keeping a low profile. 

I need good performers. That is important. It is sad that when actresses reach their peak in Bollywood, they are suddenly pushed to the margin, and then you have these bimbettes who cannot act and who don't impress me as personalities. They just dance and sing, and are paid a bomb for that.

First of all, most Hindi films don't have too much for female characters. I needed someone who would be glamorous, independent and a good performer and not a pretty bimbette. I think Urmila suits the role. I am very happy she accepted the role because it is a very strong character who is flirtatious but independent. There is a change in her character as she matures over a span of three years. She matures from a vibrant person to a sober person.

I wouldn't have wished for any other cast.

Why do you think My Brother... Nikhil got so much acclaim?

It was made with a lot of love. The whole crew was so involved. When something is made with so much of positive energy, something good comes out of it. 

Did its success put more pressure on you?

When I am making a film, I don't think that much about how it will be received. I just want to be true to my film. Having completed my film, I have started realising what the audience reaction to it will be. There is, in fact, little pressure. I would be lying if I said there is no pressure, as there are a lot of expectations.

You have the fear that people are expecting another My Brother... Nikhil, and I don't want that. I want to do something different otherwise how would I grow as a filmmaker? So that is the pressure.

Is there a lobby existing within the industry?

One of the reasons why it took me so long (to become a filmmaker) was that if you decide to make a film based on what other people want, you cannot stick to your guns unless you have star or a big production house backing you. I am glad that I have waited so long. Honestly, My Brother... Nikhil happened only because of help from a lot of friends, and support from Sanjay. He was the person who told me that I had good ideas. On his insistence, I have been writing one story every year.

We would then both go to producers. Producers told me that my script was good and that they would produce the film, provided I took on an experienced director. It took time but I am glad I waited.

What next?

Hamlet is something I have on my mind, and I'm looking forward to work on.