Indian’s blockbusters go way beyond ticket sales

Filmmaker Rehana Mirza is often called the ‘younger Mira Nair’ for making heartfelt films about the subcontinent

NEW YORK: Gifted young New York filmmaker Rehana Mirza is yet to have a big blockbuster to her name but she has fans across the world for making films with bold South Asian themes.  

Mirza recently finished her first feature as writer and director of Hiding Divya, which tackles the taboo subject of mental illness in the South Asian community with humour and emotional depth.

Mirza rounded out her impressive cast list by roping in Delhi-born veteran actress Madhur Jaffrey. Hiding Divya’s three generational story of mother, daughter and grandmother — also features Pooja Kumar and Bombay Dreams star Deep Katdare. 

Hiding Divya will be released commercially next year in India once it has completed the US festival run. It grabbed attention at the “Tongues on Fire” film festival at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts, in London.

“The British response to the film has been incredible,” says Mirza, 29, whose film will be screened at the House of Lords. “They have asked for a special screening because Britain is about to pass a bill on mental illness.” 

“One of my sister's friends first talked to me about the problem of mental illness in the South Asian community. She pointed out that South Asians tend to deny its existence and rarely, if ever, seek treatment. Families sort of sweep it under the carpet and treat mental illness as a failure rather than a treatable disease,” said Mirza.

“I also got a big push to tell the story when another friend's father, who was suffering from depression, shot himself.” 

Mirza tackles the content of Hiding Divya with dexterity and the film is far from gloomy. It has terrific acting and will appeal to anyone who has lived through the struggle of keeping an eccentric family together. 

Mirza is now working on new material for a forthcoming movie which will resonate with the South Asian community.

“There’s Something About Marriage, is a comedy and it is meant to capture farcical elements of it. It is basically about a woman who has to beat the crazy clock and get married before she turns 30.

I wrote this when I was much younger and I was watching my sister and her friends go through that marriage ‘pressure’ drill. It is a common enough in the South Asian community, but also very universal for women across the globe.” 

“Everyone experiences marriage pressures and influences from outside to tie the knot at some point. It all adds up to highly stressful and comedic moments.

Some of it is scripted from experience and some of it is made up. But there is an element of truth in there,” says Mirza who herself has managed to duck marriage pressure so far. 

Mirza, who is the writer/director of the acclaimed short film Modern Day Arranged Marriage, is the artistic director for a South Asian arts company called Desipina promoting cross-pollinations in theatre and film. Her screenwriting credits include: Far From Home (Sundance Feature Film Lab Finalist), Tiger Meat and Quarter Life Crisis.

Mirza has strong film-making pedigree. She graduated with honours from Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and an MFA in Playwriting at Columbia University.

“I like to throw myself at an imaginary wall. I am not sure what I will find on the other side but I keep pitching,” says Mirza, who tells South Asian stories. Mirza’s father is a Pakistani, born in Lucknow, and her mother is Filipino.