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Knitting dreams and desires

ZIYA US SALAM speaks to filmmaker Anwar Jamal whose "Uska Aana... Vanishing Daughters" has just arrived

HERE AND NOW Filmmaker Anwar Jamal has come up with "Uska Aana" before he concentrates his energy on "Survivor" Photo: Anu Pushkarna

An admirer of Kafka and Chekhov, he quotes Ghalib with the felicity of a man to manner born. Speaking to him is a progressive discovery of your own ignorance. And to think that Anwal Jamal, he with Swaraj in the kitty, Survivor in the pipeline, and Uska Aana as the bridge from one to the next, calls himself "a student of literature"! Surely, he has a way with understatements. But that is the only thing that is modest about him.

He has much to be immodest about, if only he would shed the cloak of self-effacing deliberate denial. Some day he would like to find new metaphors for his cinematic craft. One day, when the sun slips down, and eternal sleep overcomes all odds, he would want to be known with the films he would leave behind. That would be his passport to an enduring bond with posterity.

All that is for later. For the moment, this simple man who makes simply beguiling films, is busy with a six-part series on women, the first part of which, Uska Aana... Vanishing Daughters, will be screened in New Delhi next week with Anand Patwardhan likely to grace the occasion. Anwar wants to talk of their dreams, their desires, their body. "Everybody makes it a preachy exercise. But that is the pitfall I want to avoid. We have used Prasoon Joshi's lyrics, Shubha Mudgal's voice. The film comes against the background of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, yet no Punjabi is used. It has the scent of Waris Shah. It is an attempt to reach out to people, to the masses because the issue of female foeticide is important. Imagine a world without women! However, I have made sure the film ends on a positive note. It is a serious exercise, but a subtle one."

The first part over, Anwar is already on to more. For the rest of the schedule, he has short-listed the case of a girl married through the matrimonial columns of a newspaper. And there are other similar cases, each of which merits more than fleeting attention. Made on a budget of Rs.8 lakh per film, Anwar, for the moment, is just happy that he is able to make a difference. "Thousands of films are made. Thousands of people make films. I am happy that I am able to bring something to people without making compromises," he says, then adds, "It is important to participate in the immediate and be sure of the ultimate."

On to `Survivor'

The immediate taken care of, the ultimate beckons this Delhi-based filmmaker whose film Swaraj helped him gain more than a nodding acquaintance with the discerning. Following Uska Aana, "a work of fiction," he hastens to clarify, he is going to start working on Survivor that has Manisha Koirala as the lead, and Sudhir Mishra as a co-producer. The shooting will start in July after the current six-part series is wrapped up in another month or so.

"Whatever happens from here on, I remind myself, we don't judge Ghalib by his bank balance. We don't judge Kafka by his riches. In any man's life, there are effectively 7000 to 8000 days of solid work. What he does in those days, the world knows him by that. I have to make about 15 films in that period. They are going to be my passport to fame, or whatever you call it."

Indeed! Anwar Jamal is a rare being. When the world is busy worshipping the rich and the riches, he is busy watering the plant of faith. The fruit shall be something to look forward to.

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