Up, close & personal with makers of Vicky Donor, Ishaqzaade

The driving force of our mass culture - the movies leave a deep impact on our collective subconscious. So when some films manage to rise above established norms and break the mould they get us thinking about new things and in new ways.

Two films in the past month have done just that. One is the surprise hit Vicky Donor and the other one is the powerful but disturbing Ishaqzaade. In the CNBC-TV18's special show Beautiful People, Anuradha Sengupta speaks to directors Shoojit Sircar and Habib Faisal. Here is an edited transcript of his comments. Also watch the accompanying videos. Q: Have you watched each others films because it is going to be intense conversation? Faisal: I have, he still hasn’t. Sircar: I will watch it today. Faisal: He has been busy celebrating Vicky Donor. Q: And why do you think it has managed to get people talk about sperm donation as if it’s bread and jam for breakfast? Faisal: I’ll have to talk about both our films because you haven’t seen mine. But I think because basically it connects, as simple as that. Q: Where was the starting point? It is very clearly a message and from some of the statements you have been making since the move released and pre-release the sperm donation and infertility and that’s the way you can have children is something that you are seeming to wanting to communicate. For you as a filmmaker was it the story or was it the theme that was your starting point? Sircar: You never start at a point that you want to send a message to people to watch the film. You normally start with an idea, concept. In advertisement we have learned that what's the concept, one line concept. So it is a story of a sperm donor that’s what the idea came from Juhi Chaturvedi – the writer and it’s her debut film also. So I didn’t respond the night she told me this idea. So I said there is a doctor whose clinic is not running, he has gone out of donors and is looking for this guy. I thought let me think over.
Then immediately I sat the whole night and started searching things and I saw and I laughed and I smiled at the incidence when I was reading. The next morning I told her lets start. But also the idea came from a girl. So I though may be it’s a right time to do it. If a boy would have given me this idea I would have possibly thought over. Q: It's interesting so you are saying if women are talking about it or if a woman can be easy about this subject then it is something that would be of universal appeal. Sircar: Exactly so… no it’s not that, I mean I don’t know about it. First she gave me an idea, second day I bounced off my idea to my wife. I said lets see how she reacts to this. I straightaway told here it’s a sperm donation she said immediately do it. I thought there are two women who are saying I should do a film on sperm donation so I didn’t look back, I said let’s do it. Q: So, somewhere clearly the women you write are the real women then aren’t it because clearly the women are a few steps ahead of the men. Faisal: Absolutely. Q: We have to talk about Ishaqzaade. The interesting thing is that it’s a very powerful film, it is rooted in small town reality which we don’t know. It says head on, you are Hindu, I am Muslim and never the twin can meet at least in your movie that’s what it seem to suggest because of what people around your main characters were doing isn’t it? How did you get to Ishaqzaade after Do Dooni Chaar and Band Baja Barat which we are familiar with? I am not talking about the movies before that. Faisal: This issue has always disturbed me and its manifestation in terms of honor killings is only a metaphor. I would say few people die, about 1000-1500 but then there are so many more who’s love is killed. There are so many more who do not have an understanding of the other.
I think there is a filmic reality that we live with and then there is the real reality that actually exists. So over the years in the filmic reality these divides have gone away but actually you scratch the surface and the divides are very much there. Q: Yes it’s a community divide there that he brings up. Faisal: He is talking about how there are people who are bridging which is also a truth. I wanted to show the ugly side of it where there is a huge population which is vary of the other and the ‘us’ in them ‘ness’ of our nation is just not going away.
And then the ugly side of it surfaces especially when alliances are formed, when boys and girls end up either becoming friends or falling in love with each other. Q: Your movie ends with a filmmakers comment at the end of the movie isn’t it? Which is about honor killings whether its religion, whether where love is blocked either by religion or cast or sub-cast or community… Faisal: Or region or demographics or rich or poor or two sides of Jamuna.