Meghna Gulzar's next is on acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal
Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, known for films like Talvar and Raazi, is set to direct a film on acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Meghna, also an author of a book about her father, says the movie is an attempt to explore a larger story on acid violence in the country through the real-life subject. Deepika Padukone will be playing the lead role in the film.
'I'm using Laxmi because she's the most known acid fighter'
The film also marks Padukone's first stint into production. Meghna says Laxmi's case is the most revealing example of how India's law, medicine, and administration machinery came together for justice. "In the film with Deepika on acid violence, I'm using Laxmi Agarwal as a subject because she is the most known acid fighter," said Meghna, who has already directed five films before this one.
Laxmi's case had socio-medical, legal impact: Meghna
"Plus her case and story has been the most relevant in terms of where legislation on acid violence, medical advancement, compensation for victims and things like that was concerned," the 44-year-old filmmaker said. "There was a whole socio-medical and legal impact that her case had. Therefore, I'm using her as a lens to tell a larger story on acid-violence in India," she added.
Acid is still easy to get in tier-3 city: Meghna
"Even though acid is banned and the sale of acid is regulated in our country as of five years now, we still have acid attacks. It is still the simplest thing to get in a 'kirana' store in a tier-3 city," said the filmmaker.
Laxmi was attacked by someone known to her family
In 2005, while Laxmi was waiting at a bus stop in Delhi, she was attacked by an assailant, a man twice her age, known to her family and an unlikely suitor, whose advances she had declined. The film will showcase her journey after the attack, a significant part of the story is the game-changing PIL, which inspired the amendment on acid laws in 2013.
Meghna has recreated real-life stories with 'Talvar' and 'Raazi' before
Meghna is not new to recreating real-life stories on the big screen, having made Talvar, a critically-acclaimed film on 2008 Aarushi-Hemraj twin murders of Noida and this year's Raazi, which is based on a book inspired by a real-life account of a female spy. She has another project that will delve into the life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw but it's not a biopic.
Film on Field Marshal Manekshaw is not a biopic: Meghna
"The film on Field Marshal Manekshaw is not a biopic. I'm looking at the man, his life and his times," she says, adding with a heavy sigh, "I'm way over my head over here (the story)". Meghna doesn't like being called a female filmmaker but says the concept of "male gaze" is relevant in cinema. She believes her film Talvar required a male gaze.
'Talvar' is the most masculine film I've ever made: Meghna
Meghna says every story has to be told from a certain perspective: case in point her film Talvar, which, she believes, required a male gaze. "And I was a woman telling the story. It's the most masculine film I've ever made. There's one female character in that movie, which is Konkona, and the girl who comes at the end of the film," she added.
Was careful in not taking sides with 'Talvar' story: Meghna
"Everything was about male gaze, so even when you're staging a scene you've to go into the mind of all the different male characters," said Meghna. "How would they stand, how would they react to each other. What would their response be, what would their posture be?" she said. Meghna says she was careful in not taking sides with the story.
With 'Talvar', I said, 'I'm being objective', narrates Meghna
"With Talvar, I said, 'I'm being objective'. I'm telling you both sides of the story but when I put that video footage at the end of the film which showed the only time that the girl was alive. "That was my moral compass that I was leaving you with, that okay this is actually what happened, these two people died," she said.
There is no moral compass in grey films: Meghna
Continuing further, the filmmaker said, "If you want your story to be grey, there'll be no moral compass. If you want to give a very definite take to the audience, at the end of your film, you will have a moral compass." "Sometimes the audience finds a moral compass that you didn't even realize you placed and that's the beauty of it," she added.
