'Tamanna' would be a commercial success today: Pooja Bhatt

Pooja Bhatt, who started her filmmaking career with films like "Zakhm", says if she had made her National Award-winning film "Tamanna" today, it would have proved to be a money-spinner as well.

"Tamanna" was awarded the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues in 1996. Pooja had produced it while Mahesh Bhatt had directed it.

"I know that if I made 'Tamanna' today, I wouldn't have received just critical acclaim, but it would have also been a money-spinner. I would have got the right audience and it is a very relevant film. I got the National award for it," the 42-year-old said here Sunday at the closing ceremony of the fifth Jagran film festival.

Pooja added that it was tough to sustain with such an off-beat film in those days.

"Today's time is an exciting time for filmmakers. When I made my first film 'Tamanna', I was 21 and there were no multiplexes and no platforms like these festivals. I had to release the film in the Metro cinema, which just had a capacity of 1500. It was very difficult to sustain in those days," she said.

Pooja turned director with "Paap" in 2003 and is currently working on her next film "Cabaret".