Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar is loved for his slice-of-life films like Piku and Gulabo Sitabo and for dealing with subjects with tenderness and simplicity. So, for his debut film Yahaan, where he depicted a love story blossoming amid the turmoil and unrest in Kashmir — he leaned on his experiences as a documentary filmmaker to make the critically-acclaimed film.
“There is a documentary feel to Yahaan. For example, in a single frame, you will see both an army vehicle patrolling and a normal life unfolding,” Shoojit said during a conversation with Galatta Plus.
The Madras Cafe director has often spoken about the characters and situations in his films being inspired by real-life experiences and people, and therefore, filming the 2005 movie Yahaan, which features Jimmy Sheirgill, Minissha Lamba and Yashpal Sharma, required him to do extensive research. “I had not made films or experimented with subjects which I had not experienced personally. I had no experience being surrounded by militants. Hence, my experience as a documentary filmmaker helped me,” said Shoojit, adding that Yahaan was inspired by a newspaper article.
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“The basic story is also inspired by a newspaper article about an army man who couldn’t find tea at night. When the Jawan knocks on a window, a hand comes out with a cup of tea and he falls in love with the hand. The article inspired us to make Yahaan,” recalled the October director.
The film’s dialogue — “Allah ki galti ki sazaa apne maathe ko kyun de rahi ho?” — which captures the uncertainty of life in Kashmir, especially that of women, was the result of a long debate and discussion between Shoojit Sircar and Piyush Mishra who penned the lines. The lines may be against Shoojit’s sensibilities and can be called “shouting out,” but this came out very well in the film, he stressed. “Minnisha faced difficulty delivering those lines, but the outcome was good and impactful. Piyush and I had a lot of discussions and disagreements on whether to keep these lines as it is or not and despite me keeping another option, we went ahead with the original dialogue,” said Shoojit, who recently revealed that his next venture will feature Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role.
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Yahaan beautifully juxtaposes terrorism and normalcy in the lives of people who are used to the unrest in the valley. Recalling an experience when he travelled to Charar-i-Sharief, which helped him bring out the tender moments in Yahaan, Shoojit said he saw young boys playing marbles as a chaiwala walked past them all while the entire area was being ‘gheraoed’ by the army because someone has been held up inside. “It was a very normal, mundane day,” he added.
Shoojit admits that managing to show the political aspect of Kashmir without losing its humanness was the real challenge. “How do you show the politics in Kashmir without being too political and talk about the militants, the army and the women of Kashmir and what they want with empathy?” he added. The filmmaker recalled his conversation with college-going girls and what their aspirations were. “They told me they wanted to go to Bollywood, but what stood out for me was, ‘We want to wear a pair of jeans and go out,’ because it was something they couldn’t fathom. So the scene in the film where a packet of denims is secretly brought and worn is inspired by my conversations with these girls,” he said.
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