(From top) Gul Panag, Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta in a moment from Jurm, and Milind Soman

Three school friends, all coming from a film background, make a small workshop film and then make several shorts together, dreaming all the time to make one big Bollywood blockbuster when they grow up. And their dream does come true. Sounds filmi, very filmi? Well, that?s the real story behind the reels of last Friday?s big release, Jurm.

Vikram Bhatt, Bobby Deol and Ashish Sinha are the three men in question. ?We went to school and college together and made this workshop film called Manav. Jurm in many ways is the film we have had always dreamt of making together. It?s really special to all of us,? said Bobby, when he came to Calcutta on Friday to promote the film.

Jurm is a suspense thriller about a man accused of murdering his wife and the legal tussles that follow leading to a lot of twists and turns. ?It?s a whodunit thriller very different from the earlier thrillers that I have done like Ajnabee and Humraaz. Both the story and the treatment are very different.We had a great time shooting the film, especially in Malaysia where the climax has been canned.?

While Lara Dutta plays Bobby?s ?murdered? wife in the film, it is the other ex-Miss India Gul Panag (who plays a silent admirer of Bobby in the film) who came to the city for the promotion.

?This is just my second film. It is much bigger compared to Dhoop. I don?t want to be tied down as an actress and want to explore as many avenues as possible. It was great working with the likes of Bobby and Lara. Vikram too is great to work with and he is so good with newcomers that it made everything quite easy.?

The real surprise element of the film remains Milind Soman who plays Bobby?s lawyer in Jurm. ?Before this I have mostly done offbeat and experimental cinema. But Jurm is big and it is my first mainstream Hindi film. The producers have pumped in a lot of money and made the film very gorgeous and glossy. I am really excited about the film. It has a very different beginning and a very unconventional end with lots of twists and turns.?

The recent failures of Vikram Bhatt don?t worry the cast, especially Bobby. ?It happens with everyone. Every actor or director goes through good and bad phases in their lives. We shouldn?t be thinking about such things and giving our best shot. It?s no use giving up in life.?

Jurm does boast of some catchy music by Anu Malik and Anand Raj Anand. ?The best thing about the soundtrack is that it goes with the movie. They are not just item songs,? says Bobby.

For Milind, who was easily the showstopper in Calcutta, working with the rest of the Jurm cast was a cakewalk. ?Bobby, Lara, Gul ? all are so fun and approachable. We had a blast on the sets,? he said.

While the film hasn?t had a stupendous opening, Jurm?s prospects at the box-office aren?t that bleak either. With the two-week-old Black seen by one and all, the skin flicks Sheesha and Chaahat dismissed straightaway and the long-in-the-cans Chehraa the other new release, the Vikram Bhatt film could be the week?s top draw.

Whatever be the fate of Jurm, Milind, Bobby and Gul have other releases to look forward to. While Bobby has Mani Shankar?s Tango Charlie and Suneel Darshan?s Barsaat (yes, again!) to fall back on, Milind has just completed his much-talked-about Japanese film named Valley of Flowers and Gul has Phir Zindagi in her kitty.