Das hopes her film on aftermath of Guj riots prompts dialogue

Actor Nandita Das hopes her directorial venture Firaq based on the aftermath of the
Gujarat riots will prompt dialogue on the issue of divisiveness and prevail over any wrong noises the film's theme generates from right wing parties.

Though it is based on the riots in Gujarat, the film has very little violence depicted in it and deals with the human tragedy and fallout of such events, Das said here at the Jaipur Literature festival.

"If a film, which is an artist's creative expression of reality, offends certain people, you can do nothing about it. But you definitely do not want five people to prevent many
others from watching the film," Das said.

In light of the fact that Parzania, another film based on a similar theme had generated protests from some saffron outfits, particularly in Gujarat, Das hopes her willingness to generate a dialogue on the issue through the medium of the film will prevail over any negative sentiment.

"My intention is not wrong. In fact, it is to promote dialogue and discussion over the human tragedy that befell victims of violence," Das said.

Asked if she was worried about any controversy that might erupt, the actor, who turned both director and script writer for the film, said: "If you have the belief and conviction to come up with something, you manage to get the courage for it as well". 

The debutant director refused to bracket her film with Rahul Dholakia's Naseeruddin Shah starrer Parzania.

"Every film is different from the other, you can't compare any two of them," she said.

Das said the inspiration for the film came from her  experiences and her interactions with people.

Das, who scripted the film along with co-writer, Shuchi Kothari, termed herself as an actor, director and script writer all by default.

Embarking on the film-making process, Das realised there was hardly any screen writer willing to write the screenplay for Firaaq which she describes as a work of fiction based on a thousand real stories.

"As some writers were apprehensive about writing for Gujarat as a theme, I decided to write the script on my own with the help of a co-writer, who would instill in me the
discipline for the purpose," she said.

Describing language as a component that not only acts as a communicating mechanism but which also opens up a window to a particular culture, the actor said the characters in her film speak four languages depending upon who they are.

"My characters speak in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and English and a fifth language improvised by the lower class of people in Gujarat but we have used sub-titles only for Hindi," Das said.

The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Dipti Naval, Raghubir Yadav and Tisca Chopra among others and has already won critical acclaim around the world.

It has travelled to film festivals in Telluride (USA), Toronto, Pusan, London, Thessaloniki (Greece), Singapore, Dubai.

Based over a period of 24 hours, the film is about how different relationships unfold a month after a communal carnage.