Rajeev Virani, whose second film 'The Whisperers' has bagged two major awards at the 40th Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, says he never expected such an overwhelming response.

'It was the first ever screening of 'The Whisperers' and I never expected this kind of a response. My producer Ashok Rao is from Houston. So I wasn't allowed to feel like a fish out of water,' Virani told

The annual film festival that plays host to hundreds of new feature and documentary films from the world over was held from April 20-29 and gave Virani's film the awards for best editing (LA-based Anthony Adler) and best film in the thriller genre.

It stars Rahul Bose and Manoj Bajpai.

Virani, who filmed the recent fiasco 'Bollywood Bride' for producer-actress Kashmira Shah, confesses it was 'The Whisperers' that he wanted to make first.

'But no producer would back a thriller that had no blood and gore. So I grabbed the chance to direct another film in between.'

He now looks forward to releasing 'The Whisperers' in the large metros of India.

'It's a cerebral thriller and is therefore not likely to have a mass appeal. My producer and I know the target audience for the film and are prepared for a niche response.'

About his first film 'Bollywood Bride', Virani says: 'A lot of things went wrong. But I'm not complaining. It gave me a buddy in Sanjay Suri.