Onir in search of a fertility clinic!
The director has cast Purab Kohli as a sperm donor for I Am Afia, a short film based on Kolkata’s murky world of sperm donation that has Nandita Das playing the lead…
Now that you are coming down to Kolkata to scout for locations for Afia, why have you changed the script completely?
The earlier Afia was the story about NGO misappropriation of funds. After I developed the script, Kalki (Koechlin) and I felt that there was something missing. Along with my three writers, we tried different versions and none of them worked within the space of a short film. Later, I presented the rough cut that I had shot at the Goa film bazaar script doctoring workshop where the international panel felt that the NGO story did not fit in with the other films. Then we wrote the present Afia about a woman whose biological clock is ticking while she feels the need for motherhood.
You’ve done your research on the sperm donation business in Mumbai and on the Internet. What’s been your most shocking revelation?
In India very often people go in for donation from the father-in-law or brother-in-law for the sake of lineage! At times, impotent husbands are even allowed to see their wives having sex with the donors!
Are you aware of the ground realities of that world in Kolkata?
Kolkata is like Mumbai and Delhi. I am familiar with Kolkata. The reason my protagonist chooses Kolkata is that she is based in Delhi and wants to go to a different city to do this. Kolkata also happens to be her original city. I am looking for a fertility clinic in Kolkata to shoot in.
What was Nandita Das’ first reaction when you narrated your script?
As a progressive actor/director, Nandita found it exciting and felt that I could work a little more on the angst of Afia. My writer, Urmi Juvekar, worked on the second draft and then Nandita said yes. She will be coming down to Kolkata mid-February. We begin shooting from the first week of March.
You’ve also cast Purab Kohli in the film…
Yes. This film is like a reunion of the cast of My Brother… Nikhil. Sanjay (Suri), Juhi (Chawla) and Purab are already there. I’ve also approached Victor Banerjee to play the doctor. Purab plays the sperm donor. His character is a medical student who comes down to study in Kolkata. Nandita is originally from Kolkata and hence, I plan to keep a lot of Bangla dialogues in her interaction with the doctor. In this film, I will be playing with languages to show how multi-cultural and multi-lingual our society is.
Directing a film-maker always runs the risk of the film being called ghost-directed. How do you avoid that while shooting with the likes of Anurag Kashyap and Nandita?
Most of us, as directors, are fiercely independent and respect our craft while being open to discussions. Anurag was an actor on the sets of I Am Abhimanyu and interacted with me as a co-director. The fear of being ghost-directed has kept me away from big producers/production houses. So, I would never let that happen to me and that does not worry me since both Nandita and Anurag come from the same school.
Buzz is that all’s not well between you and Kalki regarding the making of Afia…
That isn’t true. She is aware that I was keen to work with her and have written many versions of Afia, but somehow, it did not work out. The last concept turned out to be too close to another film she was working on. When this script developed, I realized that the new Afia was a more mature woman in her mid-30s. I informed Kalki about it and she replied that she understood and hopes to work together in future.
And finally, what takes you to UK now?
I am getting an award for Media for Social Justice for the I Am films.
Source: IndiaTimes
