Starring in soul-stirring films one after another, Rahul Bose has had a fair share in both mainstream and parallel cinema. Not only has he made a successful stint as an actor, he&’s done admirably well as a director and a producer too. And with his latest pursuit, he is all set to give his best and get what follows.

“The three parts of life that consume me are cinema, sport, and social activism. So this film was perfect as not only was it cinema, it also had mountaineering and it&’s about a poor Adivasi girl from Telangana who becomes the youngest girl in history to climb Mount Everest. In terms of women&’s empowerment, it was self-explanatory. So for me, it was win-win-win!” he said.

Calling the film a “journey of a little girl”, he said, “We shot in the hut where she used to live in Telangana. Now she doesn’t stay there. We took the journey from there to where she learnt rock climbing to when she learnt mountain climbing to Sikkim and Nepal — to Everest.”

Throwing light on the aspect that makes this film worth a watch, Bose said, “It&’s extraordinary, it&’s inspiring, uplifting and it&’s a true story. If I had written a Bollywood story about a 13-year-old who climbed Everest you guys would have made fun of me — how stupid, how ridiculous.”

Bollywood is brimming with biopics on several great personalities, so what made Poorna different? “I think the most important thing about a biopic is that it should have the correct mix between authenticity and dramatisation. If it doesn’t have that, then it fails,” he said. “Why one should watch this film? Because, honestly, I think it&’s one of the most inspirational stories that someone can remember — without any doubt in India&’s history – and, in fact, the world&’s history.

“To think of a 13-year-old girl who climbs Everest — it has never be done before and it will never be done again, because it changed the rules after she climbed,” he said. “I would wish for viewers to tell themselves, ‘My God, this is the most amazing journey I can imagine.’”

The 49-year-old stars in the film as the girl&’s mentor, RS Praveen Kumar, and when asked if it was challenge to act in the film while directing it, he was quick to come back with, “It is just physically taxing. You just have to direct and then go to the make-up van and put on make-up and wear a costume and stay in the same costume all day while acting and directing. But it&’s nowhere like climbing Mt Everest.

“Will I do it again? Yes. But do I prefer to only direct? Yes. It&’s always better to sit and just direct,” he also said. “Do the things you want to do,” is his mantra and in that respect he feels Poorna is one of the films he simply wished to do. “It&’s an astonishing tale, and after making the film I have and I will sleep like a log for quite a long time.”