When Yash Raj Films was busy serenading the Diaspora, writer-director Habib Faisal was one of the forces that brought it back to the roots through a series of films that were entertaining and introspecting at the same time. A video journalist before turning to feature films, Faisal combs the social churning in small towns in the globalised world and has a knack for capturing relationships. This past week he put the flavours of a father-daughter relationship in Daawat-e-Ishq on the bedrock of dowry and section 498A of IPC. “I am inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee kind of cinema who tackled serious issues in a light hearted, slice of life cinema. The idea germinated after reading a news story where a woman had duped 10 men by using section 498A against them. I found it an interesting turn of events. Sometimes facts are more bizarre than fiction. We couldn’t use 10 and brought it down to one.”
Dowry is often considered a corrupt practice prevalent in Hindu homes but Faisal’s film debunks the idea.
“Islam is against dowry but so is Hinduism, I believe. But often corrupt practices seep in more easily than virtues. Today, dowry is prevalent wherever Indians have gone. It is common in the US and Canada. I know of cases in the UAE. Except for Meghalaya and Kerala, which have a predominantly matriarchal society, the practice is prevalent in almost all the States of the country. There is a law in place against dowry since 1961 but records show that a girl dies because of dowry-related issues every hour. These are hard facts which can come with any elementary research and the fact that the cases of female infanticide have not come down indicate that dowry is still a stigma associated with girl child. Of course, it is not talked about in mainstream spaces but it only indicates that the practice still gets social sanction.” He says in sanctioning education loans, a girl’s marital status plays an important role. “The mode of taking money of justifications might have changed but the practice is still prevalent and more so in the so-called educated and financially well-off section of society.”
However, linking dowry and 498A could make the issue frivolous. I didn’t want to make it for the converts. I wanted to make a slice of life cinema which pushes a serious issue. So that those who usually stay away from socially meaningful films also get a message.”
Faisal hails from Lucknow while his wife is a Tamilian Muslim and he has felt the difference of cultures in daily life. He opted for Hyderabad because for Hindi film audience the city has a better Muslim identity than Chennai. “I have understood how people of a region have more cultural affinity than the people of the same religion. We know that there is a long standing competitive spirit between the food of Hyderabad and Lucknow, particularly biryani. There have been jokes where a Lucknow guy can be poisoned for appreciating Hyderabadi biryani. I wanted to keep this competitive spirit as part of the backdrop.”
His Ishaqzaade is often criticised by feminists for showing a girl who falls in love with her tormentor. “I did face flak from some quarters but those who understood my intentions appreciated it. The girl saw traces of humanity in Parma. He was not like his uncle. Also, I want to showcase the complexity of life in the part of the world I come from. In the patriarchal society a woman often becomes a tool for revenge and like dowry some guys do it out of ignorance or reverence for the practice without realising its consequences.”
Faisal says he has grown up watching films like Tere Ghar Ke Saamne where love evolved over a period of time. “I don’t understand falling in love after one scene of physical intimacy. In small towns the conflict still exists. While Facebook and 3G mobile phones have reached the towns, holding the hand of a girl in public is still forbidden and at it this contrast that I want to reflect upon.”
On using food to light up the mood, Faisal reminds it has been an important part of his film writing from the beginning. “If you remember, Duggal Sir was fond of his butter chicken in Do Dooni Chaar and Bittoo Sharma swore by bread pakode ki kasam in Band Baaja Baarat . In Ishaqzaade a couple of crucial scenes panned out on dining table and Parineeti’s character was addicted to mangoes. I want my characters to be human and food does for me what item numbers do for many filmmakers.”
Picking Aditya Roy Kapoor as Tariq raised eyebrows but Faisal, denying the influence of Yash Raj banner in casting, says if one looks closely it has been a trend with his films. “Nobody saw Rishi Kapoor as an aging middle class teacher or Arjun Kapoor as a rugged U.P. boy. I love to take an actor away from his comfort zone.”
He is embargoed from talking about Fan , the next film that he is writing with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. “The idea is to turn the spotlight away from the celebrity and see what happens,” Faisal signs off.
