“Dia got portfolio done especially for Acid Factory” – Suparn Verma

Even though Dia Mirza is the sole leading lady of Suparn Verma directed Acid Factory, the fact is that it took some convincing on her part before the filmmaker agreed to rope her in for a challenging part that she gets to enact in the film. The story goes that initially Suparn wasn't too enthusiastic about Dia being the perfect fit for a character of a sexy-n-tough girl. However, on being advised by producer Sanjay Gupta, he agreed to give her a shot.

"Frankly, it took some time before Dia was finalised for the part. Sanjay (Gupta) did suggest her name but he didn't want to force his decision on me. He just asked me to meet her when she came in to visit us at the office. I sat down with her for a while and it was instant love from that point on", smiles Suparn who remembers the efforts that Dia put in to perfect the personality that the character demanded.

"She had actually gone through the pain of getting a portfolio done especially for Acid Factory. She opened the file and asked me if she looked like the character that I had in mind", remembers Suparn, "I was so convinced in those few minutes itself that I just gave her a hug and began my narration."

Giving the reason behind his initial apprehension, Suparn reveals, "When Dia asked me about my reservations, I told her that she looked like a fragile beauty and I get a protective feeling towards her. On the other hand, the character that she was expected to play in the film was that of a bit%h. Of course! That would have meant a major metamorphosis on her part and I wasn't too sure if I could see her or shoot her that way. It was difficult to present Dia in such a manner."

He is of course quite ecstatic about the final results. "I am glad that she eventually went on to play the part as she gave her 200% to the film. She trained hard, changed her entire expressions and body language for the role and understood her character perfectly well. She was one of the boys on the sets", concludes Suparn.

Boasting of an all male cast comprising of Fardeen Khan, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani and Danny Denzongpa, Acid Factory is Suparn's second directorial outing after Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena [Fardeen Khan, Koena Mitra] that released in 2005.