Hollywood director Param Gill's Bollywood debut Waarrior Savitri has landed him in trouble. The film, scheduled for release in India and the US on August 25, has apparently received backlash for its depiction of the Hindu goddess (Savitri) as a modern, 21st-century woman. Effigies bearing the image of Gill have been reportedly burnt in Raipur, Ludhiana and a few places in India. We hear, Gill has also received threats and his personal website was hacked recently. Religious fundamentalists have assumed the film to be a Western influence on an important character from mythology, thus diluting its message. In the trailer, the goddess is shown practicing martial arts to combat her enemies. Savitri, played by Niharica Raizada, depicts sexual intimacy in certain portions and will be seen wearing bold outfits in the film, which is set in Las Vegas.

Speaking from Los Angeles, Gill says, “I was inspired by the Nirbhaya case. I think women need to empower themselves. They should learn martial arts for self-defence.“

Gill and lead actress Lucy Pinder were set to board the flight for Mumbai from LA to promote the film. But fearing security issues, they chose not to. “It's frustrating to not be able to come to India to promote my first Bollywood film,“ says Pinder.

In 2010, the Vikramaditya Motwane-directed Udaan was unanimously acknowledged as one of the year's best films. And its 21-year-old protagonist, Rohan, a youngster who returns home to an authoritarian father after being expelled from school, played with remarkable maturity by Rajat Barmecha, was considered one of the most-loved performances.

Four years later, Rajat is back on screen in an unlikely follow-up to his memorable debut that premiered in Cannes. There's no poetry in Param Gill's Warrior Savitri, instead the poster boy of indie cinema has a British topless model, Lucy Pinder, for company. “But I didn't want to end up as just the poster boy of indie cinema,“ protests Rajat, saying that post-Udaan had he accepted all the offers he got, he'd have made a fortune by now. “I've read over 40 scripts in the past four years but none appealed to me.“

And what about Warrior Savitri appealed to him? “Param is a friend and he came up with this modern take on the Satyavaan-Savitri mythological tale. That was what excited me. I play a cool dude from Vegas and the film has a lot of action, song-and-dance and yes, even erotica!“ he exults.

And what was he doing before Warrior Savitri? Rajat informs that he was doing commercials, short films, reading up and taking vacations. But has he kept in touch with his mentors, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane? “I don't meet them often but I'm in touch. Anurag once told me to take my own decisions when it came to choosing movies. So I don't consult him before signing a film but he's always there“ he retorts.

However, his brother Vicky has been assisting Anurag on Bombay Velvet and his sister is doing films down South. “My parents will soon shift to Mumbai. I've moved into a bigger apartment. From a family of complete non-actors, we've become a filmy family,“ he smiles.

And what kind of reactions is he anticipating to Warrior Savitri? “I'm doing it after a lot of thought. I have refused films in the past which I felt could damage my career. Good scripts can sometimes make disastrous movies and vice versa. I hope Warrior does good things for my career. Rest is all destiny,“ he says, before adding, “I hope another Udaan comes along soon. If it does I won't refuse it!“