'The government wants to ban surrogacy and take away women's fundamental right to do what she wants with her body.'
Screenwriter duo Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal, who have written films like Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Raabta and Kabir Singh, get ready to make their directorial debut with Dukaan this week.
Set in Gujarat, Dukaan tells the story of Jasmine (Monika Panwar), who embarks on a brave journey as a surrogate mother.
"It is privileged versus the underprivileged and when two worlds collide, it's the perfect spot for drama and emotion," Siddharth and Garima tell Rediff.com Senior Contributor Rajul Hegde.
What made you pick surrogacy as the subject for your debut film?
Siddharth: Why not? Social issues and common man problems impact us deeply.
We have done some three-four years of research and met about 100 women.
We visited the town of Anand in Gujarat in 2015. There were surrogacy homes where 50-60 pregnant women stayed under one roof, with so many mood swings and drama.
The criteria for surrogacy were that you need to be a married woman and should have a child already.
We met surrogate parents and understood their feelings.
We also met doctors.
Garima: It is privileged versus the underprivileged and when two worlds collide, it's the perfect spot for drama and emotion.
How different is Dukaan from the others films on surrogacy?
Garima: Films on surrogacy have touched the topic, but have no research involved.
We had done a lot of research work.
Dukaan not only looks at the commercial side of surrogacy but also talks about a women's agency over the body.
We have met ladies who have given birth to babies via surrogacy multiple times. But now the laws have changed and it's limited to only one surrogacy.
The money they earned from surrogacy would change their lives in some way or the other, like for their children's education or to take care of their families.
The government wants to ban surrogacy and take away women's fundamental right to do what she wants with her body.
You have cast a relatively new actress, Monika Panwar.
Garima: We reached out to the big names in the industry but no one wanted to play a pregnant lady. They said, give us a glamorous role.
So we decided to take an actress who was convinced with the role.
We saw this new actress from NSD (National School of Drama), Monika Panwar of Jamtara fame. When we auditioned her, we knew we had found our Jasmine for Dukaan.
Surrogates are faceless so we took a face that is seen, but not a lot. That gives fairness to the film.
How has the transition been from script-writing and writing lyrics to direction?
Siddharth: The transition has been natural. When you are writing, you are visualising the scene anyway. That's what the director needs, to have a vision which translates the script for the audience.
Garima: When we write, we are writing a screenplay, not a book.
When we wrote a scene for Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela, we knew exactly where Leela would enter from, her costume, how many flowers would be in the vase...
As a screenwriter, we define a scene so completely that 80 percent has already been directed on paper.
We have co-produced Dukaan, so we knew exactly how our film would look.
Both of you have been working together for more than 15 years. How do you resolve creative differences?
Garima: By fighting (laughs).
We kick and punch each other until one relents.
You have worked with directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who have a distinct style of film-making. Was it difficult to please them?
Siddharth: Luckily for us, it was not so difficult because we connected with Bhansali sir's films even before we worked with him. And fortunately, he connected with our writing.
Similarly, for Vanga. We connected beautifully at a human level.
Garima: Both directors have one thing in common: They will admire a written line if they love it. If they like a scene or dialogue, they can talk about it for hours.
Bhansali sir starts clapping like a child. Sometimes, he may even start crying.
Even though Vanga sir is from the South, he has a great understanding of Hindi lyrics.
For them, the written word is valuable.
The equation we share is that of mutual respect and admiration.
Vanga is not so expressive. When we wrote the lyrics for Satranga (the song in Animal), he loved each and every word. There was not a single change.
He is a dear friend, and when he comes to Mumbai, he sometimes stays with Siddharth.
We chat the entire night, not realising when it's dawn.
Even though Animal was a blockbuster, it received negative publicity.
Garima: To each his own. We should not let our morals come in the way of cinema.
Let people express what they want to express, it's a democratic country.
I don't think we should put our upbringing or our understanding of feminism into film-making.
We should not burden ourselves with it.
Did Ram-Leela help you get more work?
Garima: I think what helped us get more work was the fact that we were driven.
The success of Ram-Leela did help us in terms of getting those calls, but it has more to do with the justice done to the script.
Siddharth: What led to our future projects after Ram-Leela was not because it was a SLB film. Maybe it was because of the writing and, of course, that it was a successful film.
Was it difficult to get your first directorial project?
Garima: The film's launch was not a bed of roses. Once we cast Monika, we did a poster shoot with her by investing our money.
There was no producer at that time.
We had money only for one hoarding in Juhu (north west Mumbai).
We thought putting up a hoarding would create a buzz in the market.
After that, we received many calls from the industry.
Then we got producers Amar and Shikha on board. They backed our vision beautifully.
What we found was challenging convincing a big studio to come onboard to release this film.
As this is a theatrical release, it's a big victory. If audiences come and like it, it will be a bigger victory.
What next?
Garima: Our second film, Saale Aashique is ready. It is about honour killings in the rustic world of Madhya Pradesh.
Sony Pictures will release it. We will have a double debut this year.
