Aparna Sen on how The Japanese Wife was born

Actor-director Aparna Sen says the idea for her upcoming film The Japanese Wife came about over a cup of coffee with author Kunal Basu. "It's a very, very unusual love story," says the director.

Actor-director Aparna Sen says the idea for her upcoming film The Japanese Wife came about over a cup of coffee with author Kunal Basu.

"It's a very, very unusual love story," Aparna Sen told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

She added that the movie, which stars Rahul Bose, Raima Sen, Moushumi Chatterjee and Japanese actress Chingusa Takaku, is set to release April 9.

The Japanese Wife tells the tale of Snehamoy (Rahul Bose), a schoolteacher in the interiors of Sundarbans, West Bengal, and Migaya (Chingusa Takaku). They start off as pen pals, fall in love and even get married through letters. And while they have been married for 15 years, they have never met each other.

Aparna Sen's source of inspiration for the unique story is writer Kunal Basu's short story.

"I was actually collaborating with Basu on some other script and was unable to get anything film-worthy. At a normal coffee break, when Kunal told me of this story, every other plot went out of my head," said Aparna Sen.