Mumbai, Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar says she was first approached to make “Daayra” in 2020 and while she had already decided to move ahead with “Sam Bahadur”, she knew that the story will always be relevant.
“So, it’s a double-edged sword. Similarly, I feel that this gender psychology is how much you are aware of it or attuned to it. I tune it out.
Known for films such as “Raazi” and “Chhapaak”, the filmmaker said she wanted to explore the differing reactions within police, law and public when it comes to crime against women. Asked what is it about institutions that keeps drawing her as a filmmaker, be it military in “Sam Bahadur”, criminal justice in “Talvar” and intelligence agency in “Raazi”, the director said it is always the story rather than a particular world or people that draw her in. It was initially reported that “Daayra” is inspired from 2019 Hyderabad rape case but Meghna said the film is an amalgamation of several real cases from across the country. “A lot of cases that we’ve come across and are still coming across as we keep collecting and we keep reading are gut-wrenching, not just shocking,” the director said. The region-neutral nature of the story made it essential to bring together talent from different film industries, and hence Kareena, a top Hindi movie star, and Malayalam star Prithviraj were roped in for “Daayra”. Asked whether she has ever dealt with the film’s central concern about boundaries imposed on women, the filmmaker, who is the daughter of veteran writer-poet-lyricist and filmmaker, Gulzar, and actor Rakhee, said she personally has not experienced “prejudice or differential treatment” because of her “gender”. My world, my film world, my film sets are not coloured by gender, we are all equal,” she said.
“They are both spontaneous and instinctive. Because he’s also a director, with Prithviraj, he also looks at… like, he will tell the other actor, you were standing here in the previous shot and your right hand was up.
So, he will remember somebody else’s continuity as well,” Meghna said.
