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First cut

Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

COMPELLING STORYTELLER Nandita Das

After stellar performances in “Fire”, “1947-Earth”, “Bawandar” and “Aamaar Bhuvan”, Nandita Das has turned director with the award-winning film “Firaaq”. The film has bagged acclaim and awards in international film festivals. An excited Nandita says: “It is a very different experience compared to acting. It is only when you start directing do you realise that a lot more goes into the film, than just the shoot.”

She adds: “Direction entails taking quick decisions, pushing yourselves creatively and mentally to the limits. After shooting, you have to learn a lot of technical aspects on the job. Overall, it was exciting and challenging.”

On making a choice between acting and direction, Nandita is circumspect. “I have always enjoyed doing different things. I do not see any reason why one has to make choices, when both the choices can be worked out easily. I believe that every choice you make leads to a new crossroad,” she says.

Nandita says “Firaaq” is a story that is set over a 24-hour time period, almost a month after the 2002 Gujarat carnage. “‘Firaaq’ is an Urdu word that means separation and quest. It traces the emotional journeys of ordinary people — some victims, some perpetrators and some who chose to watch the carnage silently.”

Nandita says that this film is different from many other films that set out to criticise such incidents and end up being full of violence. .

“Though almost all stories are connected to each other, some of the connections are very discrete. We started working on the film with one basic storyline, but then there were all these other stories that I had seen, heard and read, that I felt needed to be told. It was not my desire to direct that I found these stories, instead the stories compelled me to direct them. I enjoyed working with stalwarts such as Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghubir Yadav, Deepti Naval and others. They were all very open to trying out things differently.”

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