Jisshu Sengupta and Koel Bandopadhyay in moments from Chakra

Will Tollywood ever have a Farah Khan who can stitch together a Main Hoon Na with stars and style? Will the male bastion of mainstream film-making allow women directors a foothold? Will Tollywood be comfortable with the idea of a woman film-maker churning out commercial hits like a Swapan Saha. Early days yet, but the ball has been set rolling.

Sanghamitra Chaudhuri, who has honed her directorial skills on documentaries till now, is taking the big leap to the big screen with a commercial feature film.

With all the formula elements of a typical potboiler, Chakra stars leading man Jisshu Sengupta opposite debutante Koel Bandopadhyay.

Sanghamitra?s premise is the conventional story of a girl falling in love with a criminal and trying to steer him to the right path.

?But it?s more about the girl?s sufferings and her struggle to stand up on her own merit. She comes from a middle-class family and is neglected, being a girl child. Even after marriage, the understanding between the couple doesn?t develop. I feel this is an issue that many women will identify with,? says Sanghamitra, having made many a documentary before foraying into the feature film format.

?It?s a family drama and also slapstick comedy to a great extent, plus a lot of action. My target audience is the women in rural pockets,? adds the director who admits having faced problems in finding a producer for her first film.

?There is a general idea that women directors are capable of making parallel films but not mainstream films and I had difficulty in finding a producer,? explains Sanghamitra, who has long been associated with Doordarshan and Films Division as a scriptwriter.

Chakra is now being produced by Arati Films.

For leading man Jisshu, the story line was reason enough to take up the project. ?I play a very different kind of a role; it?s non-romantic. My character works for an MLA and kidnaps the girl he is in love with. I liked the story and the technicians Sanghamitra had chosen. The making has also been very good so far,? feels Jisshu.

Eighty per cent shooting for Chakra has been wrapped up in Hyderabad, at Ramoji Rao Film City and Rama Naidu Studio.

Some scenes will be shot in north Bengal in and around river Teesta. The makers are eyeing a February-March release.