An all-female team of HODs has worked behind the scenes for the upcoming Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Noor . The Hindu sat down with the women behind the film, to talk about how it was to bring Saba Imtiaz’s comedy crime-thriller, Karachi, You’re Killing Me, to the big screen. Edited excerpts from our conversation with co-producer Shikhaa Sharma, production design Mansi Dhruv Mehta, costume designer Fabeha Khan, dialogue writer Ishita Moitra and cinematographer Keiko Nakahara.
How and why did you decide to adapt Karachi, You're Killing Me ?
Shikhaa : The book was really relatable, about an independent girl who’s like any one of us. There was no story in the book but the character was very interesting. Also, the book is based in Karachi. I’ve never been there but I always thought Pakistan was not so progressive and liberal.
And the character is a journalist who’s covering a bomb blast and other crazy things but thinking, “Should I iron my hair? Am I looking alright?”.
Then why did you decide to base the film in Mumbai?
Shikhaa : Sunhil Sippy (director of Noor ) always said the film should be his love letter to the city. That was the whole reason why we chose Mumbai; because of his conviction. You’ll see that he’s captured a very different Mumbai. He’s taken us to Mankurd, [the] Vasai salt pans, Bhaucha Dhakka, Sewri, Wadala and Reay Road. And it was all beautiful.
Were there any challenges in adapting the Karachi milieu to Mumbai?
Ishita : It’s about a girl who’s not happy with the opportunities in her life which is relatable. And then the second half is about her journey to redemption. We didn’t have to adapt anything to suit the city, it’s very Indian and universal, it’s every 20-year-old [’s story].
Shikhaa : She says things like, ‘I gave up smoking because I can’t afford it.’ That’s all our lives.
Was it a deliberate decision to have all women HODs?
Shikhaa : It wasn’t intentional at all. The only thing we’d decided was to have the dialogue writer be a woman to get the right dialogues. But [the other HODs] have been a strong backbone for the story and it has worked out well.
What was the dynamic like for five women to work with one male director?
Shikhaa : Usually, directors are so insecure they will never acknowledge your contribution to the film. Sunhil just recently declared on social media that I helped him co-direct the film. Who does that?
Keiko : He has a very specific vision of what he wants right down to each frame and that’s very different. Bollywood films use a lot of bright colours but Sunhil is the opposite, he wanted more muted and natural colours.
Mansi : I actually think Sunhil is a woman! While shooting, we’ve thought, this is you (about Noor’s character)! And he’s very particular about art, to the extreme. We’ve had lamps made out of Old Monk bottles (to fit in with Noor’s personality) and hour-long discussions on the size of tiles. And he’s so punctual.
Shikhaa : Sunhil is so punctual that even our wrap party started exactly at 8 p.m. because he reached there on time.
Did the fact that you’re women have any effect on Noor ?
Ishita : By that logic we would only work on women-centered films. But personally, we could relate to the character and we could bring something extra to the table. It’s not that we wouldn’t be able to do it if it was another film.
Fabeha : It was so much fun doing things for the character. At least for me, everything was [the way I would react to a situation]. For instance Noor keeps changing clothes but she has one bag and one pair of shoes throughout the film [like it would be for women in real life].
Taking Noor as an example, has there been a time when the industry has shied away from hiring women behind the camera?
Shikhaa : I meet a lot of people from the industry and I feel [some] men are a little intimidated [by women] and they will be more cautious.
Ishita : I came to Mumbai ten years ago and apart from Shibani Bathija, there were no women writers – there was Honey Irani – all the writers were men. Today, we must be at least 50% of the workforce and it seems like women were always doing this job, but it hasn’t been the case. I’ve been witness to the change
Keiko : A DOP is a guy’s job and a lot of people want their DOPs to be a man.
Fabeha : In costume, it’s the reverse! We used to have a lot of female designers and now we have a lot of male designers. And we’re making way for them.
What was a typical day on set like?
Mansi : It was so much fun, we used to talk and giggle a lot.
Fabeha : We would annoy Sunhil sometimes.
Shikhaa : I spent less time with the women because I’d be with Sunhil. [Complains] and Keiko, where did you get time to giggle, man? We never got time to giggle!
What were the challenges like?
Mansi : It’s one of those films where things went smoothly from day one. The prep was really strong and Sunhil knew exactly what he wanted.
Shikhaa : I think that’s why we don’t have too many anecdotes.
No crisis averted?
Shikhaa : We were shooting in an SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) in Mankurd and it was raining outside. It was the last bit [of the film] that we were shooting and somebody [had] passed away in the building. We were trying to finish and under a lot of pressure. But we managed to shoot and get out of there. It was very chaotic.
Finally, what’s the funniest thing that happened on set?
Mansi : I think the funniest thing was for Sunhil to speak in Hindi. He does it with a [British] accent.
Ishita : We had to translate and explain things to him.
Shikhaa : He doesn’t understand Bollywood music and in his head he had a film without music. He was like, “Are you going to put Bollywood songs in my film?”
Mansi : He wanted ‘Gulabi Aankhen’ to be scripted into the film.
