I wanted someone who could play vulnerable and also become strong, she seemed the right fit: Navdeep Singh on choosing Anushka Sharma for 'NH10'

New Delhi: Director Navdeep Singh, best known for his impressive debut 'Manorama Six Feet Under', is back with Anushka Sharma-starrer 'NH10' which, he says, is a dark and gripping tale about the struggle between different Indias.

"It is very dark but at the same time a very gripping and compelling watch. There are many Indias in this country. There are different realities to a city and they all co-exist but they don't know each other. When they accidentally meet, sometimes in bad circumstances, there is friction, a struggle. 'NH10' talks about this friction," Navdeep told PTI.

'Manorama Six Feet Under', a critically acclaimed murder mystery starring Abhay Deol and Gul Panag, somehow escaped viewers' radar when it first released seven years ago but has since acquired a cult status.

Ask him about his delayed follow up, Navdeep admits that things did not pan out well following his debut. "There were many, many false starts. I was to do 'Basra' but that did not take off and then I was doing another film

called 'Rock the Shaadi'. We shot some of it but then it got stalled.

"It has been seven years but every person has a journey. It has also to do with the kind of films you want to make. If you want to make a big commercial film or have made something big then things become easier. You get only this much petrol on critical acclaim," he says.

Produced by Eros International, Phantom Films and Clean Slate Films, 'NH10', also starring Neil Bhoopalam and Darshan Kumar besides Anushka, is scheduled to release on March 6.

The story revolves around a young upper middle class couple Meera and Arjun, driving to a well-earned weekend getaway. But their road trip goes awry when they decide to step into a fight between some villagers.

Navdeep says Anushka, who is making her production debut with the film, was always the first choice but the script did travel to other actresses, including Freida Pinto, before it finally came back to 'PK' star. "I don't know why I thought of Anushka. She seemed the right physical type. I wanted someone who could play vulnerable and also become strong. I needed both these qualities and she seemed the right fit," he says.