Tahira Kashyap Khurrana was left shocked with the thunderous applause and standing ovation she received for her debut feature film, Sharmajee Ki Beti. After working on it for the past six years and jumping over several hurdles, the writer-director’s film was screened at the recently held MAMI film festival in Mumbai.

“It was surreal. It (making the film) took a long time, I’m just hoping that it gets love and respect. I wanted the film to be a joyful experience for everyone watching it, including those who made it. All that energy was reflected in the film,” she shares.

Married to actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana, Tahira is proud that she didn’t use her connections in the industry to make the film as she wanted to forge her own path. The 40-year-old says, “I won’t say temptation weren’t there to exploit a certain relationship, but that’s not how we (Tahira and Ayushmann) began our relationship. I wanted [to work with] people, who had zero interest in getting something out of it and had full faith in my capabilities.”

Sharing her experience trying to get producers onboard for his film, Tahira says it is tough to get money from anyone, irrespective of one’s connections. “Aaj ke time pe kisi se do rupaye nikalwana mushkil hai, this was crores of money. Nobody is going to spend money just because I am someone’s wife or if the product wasn’t good! There was no give and take. Even if someone made my project, I won’t push my husband to do something for them. It was very clear [from my end] and that’s the conscience I am going to live with for the rest of my life,” she signs off.