'Every publicity or controversy is good for a movie': Ankit Raj

MUMBAI: Television actor Ankit Raj, who will next be seen in Karan Razdan's untitled film that reportedly revolves around love jihad, feels every publicity or controversy is good for a film.

"I feel every publicity or controversy is good for a movie," said Ankit, adding about the film: "Having said that, I feel this is a very pure story from his (Razdan's) heart. There are emotional moments when people will cry after watching the friendship of these two male characters and there are a lot of things that people will take away after watching the film."

Razdan has in the past directed films like Girlfriend (2004), Hawas (2004) and Souten: The Other Woman (2006), which courted controversy. His forthcoming film reportedly revolves around the controversial concept of love jihad.

Sonarika Bhadoria plays his girlfriend in the film. "She supports my character during the entire film. Having a Hindu girlfriend for a Muslim guy speaks a lot, because it is still a taboo in our country. She is as important as male characters of the film. It's not about love jihad. It's a very nice and organic college kind of romance between two people. I think love jihad is a very strong word to use for our film," he said.

The film also features Ashish Sharma, Anup Jalota and Deepika Chikhalia in key roles.