Jism 2 goes beyond the body, says Pooja Bhatt

First, there was talk of Sunny Leone signing up for “Jism 2″. Now, the buzz surrounding the movie has just got bigger with the release of the film’s first look.

Ask Pooja Bhatt – the film’s director – if the veiled woman is Sunny Leone and she just smiles. “I don’t wish to reveal who the girl is till I have everything on paper. When I shot this poster, I was sure I wanted it to be sensual. The question that most men are asking after seeing the first look is whether the girl in the poster is naked or not. For me, that’s not very important because after a point, the flesh doesn’t really matter. It’s about the soul. There has been too much talk about whether Sunny is doing my film or the one with Salman. I don’t wish to say anything till I’ve signed my cast.”

Pooja met Sunny on Tuesday evening. But the adult star hasn’t signed on the dotted line yet. Meanwhile, Pooja and dad Mahesh Bhatt are off to Darjeeling to attend a film festival and decide if she can shoot “Jism 2″ there.

The “Jism” poster with Bipasha Basu’s honey-coated legs was the talk of the town some nine years ago. There have been reports that Mallika Sherawat and Bipasha Basu, along with John Abraham, had lobbied hard for a role in “Jism 2″.

Pooja takes pride in the final look of the poster, which is high on intrigue and mystery. “Spielberg says the difference between erotica and porn is the lighting. I say, it’s the gaze. There is an essential difference in the way a man and a woman see a human body. That’s the difference between, let’s say, “Murder” that my father made with Anurag Basu and “Jism” that I did with him. “Murder” did great business at the box office. But the way I visualized Bipasha and treated sensuality is very different from Anurag’s vision. In “Jism”, Bipasha was a woman in complete control of her body and sensuality. People talked about the sensuality in “Jism” and they were empathized with the heroine who said the body doesn’t know love. It knows lust. Even now, it suits people if such women die as villains. As my father says, in India, good people fall in love and bad people have sex.”

So, what does Pooja think of Sunny’s impact on men? “I met her and she intimidates people. Yet, there is an innocence in her face. However, I didn’t want to reveal any face when I designed the poster of “Jism 2″. From Bipasha to Mallika, there’s been much speculation over who the lead actor in my film is. While I wanted to whet people’s appetite with this poster, I also wanted to establish that eventually it’s the franchise that’s more important than the face. People don’t sell movies any more. It’s the brand that matters.”

I might shoot in Darjeeling: Pooja
“Jism 2″ goes beyond the body, feels Pooja. “The lead actor is a femme fatale, a mother and a sex worker and is allowed to exist in grey areas without being apologetic about it. “Jism 2″ will embrace darkness because only by doing so can one see light,” Pooja adds.

So, which is the most sensual movie in Pooja’s eyes? “I can’t think of anything more sensual than David Lean’s “Doctor Zhivago” and Kim Basinger in “Nine 1/2 Weeks”. In India, it had to be Zeenat Aman in “Satyam Shivam Sundaram”. Then, there was this topless picture of Simi Garewal that was my first memory of Indian erotica from “Siddhartha”. However, nothing can hold a candle to “Jism”. I’d still say, India needs a new fantasy.”

Considering that she is in Darjeeling now, does she plan to shoot the film there? “Just as Pondicherry offered the right backdrop for “Jism”, I am looking for a place with a unique character for “Jism 2″. I will zero in on a place only if it suits the movie not because people are offering us infrastructural facilities. I have been to Darjeeling in 1978 when my father was shooting “Lahu Ke Do Rang” with Shabana Azmi, Vinod Khanna and Danny Denzongpa. I had also gone to shoot “Chor Aur Chand” there with Aditya Pancholi. That’s where I had met a newlymarried Shah Rukh and Gauri. He was shooting there for “Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman”. Gauri still had her wedding bangles on when we met. I will be there in Darjeeling for a couple of days. If I find the location suitable, I will definitely shoot there,” she signs off.