Dukaan, a film focused on commercial surrogacy, releases in theatres on April 5. Screenwriters and lyricists Siddharth-Garima turn directors with this film that stars Monika Panwar in the lead and has an ensemble cast comprising Sikandar Kher, Monali Thakur and Calcutta boy Soham Majumdar. Recently, t2 caught up with the director duo and Soham for a chat on their film at Park Street Social.
What is the vibe like as you move towards release day?
Siddharth Singh: People have loved whatever we have put out, especially the music because Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal and Mohit Chauhan are singing for the film.
Garima Wahal: The audience likes the strong and impactful trailer. There is a lot of clutter today but luckily, our trailer has managed to stand out. We have the audience reacting to every dialogue and saying how fresh the subject is. There have been films on surrogacy, but not on commercial surrogacy.
Soham Majumdar: I have lived with the film for four years, but for them (points to the directors), the journey of Dukaan has been for over a decade. They have been developing the story for the longest time and their transition to being a director duo is something to marvel at. I am so happy that I could be a part of their first film. We need daring filmmakers like them to back good actors to tell a story.
Garima: I know the whole pressure of having a big name as the face of one's film, but I have always wondered why a project can't be an A-list project and not depend on A-list faces.
Dukaan is based on real events. What gave birth to the film?
Garima: We came to know about commercial surrogacy in Anand (in Gujarat) through a newspaper article. I instantly connected to it. Siddharth and I are screenwriters and this is exactly what we do. Metaphorically, we understand what it is like to give birth to something and hand it over to somebody else. That is essentially what a writer does and more often than not, we are not credited for it properly. The story of a surrogate, in some ways, resonates well with us.
Siddharth: The article was about how these 50-odd pregnant women were living under one roof and they were all surrogates. We thought this renders a great cinematic background for a world that is not yet tapped.
It took us four years to research. We met real-life surrogates. We also met couples from all over the world... it was legal in India at that time but is now banned. The experience was intriguing
Garima: As the world kept unfolding, we both were like: 'Wow, this is exciting!' Most of what is there in the film is real. There is very little fiction and a whole lot of facts.
Siddharth: Whatever in the film feels shocking to you, please know that it is real!
What shocked you the most?
Siddharth: It is not there in the film. We met a couple from Chandigarh who opted for surrogacy but because of the pressure from their conservative families, they lied that the wife herself was pregnant and that they were going to another city for a couple of months to have the child. They had the baby through a surrogate but to make sure that their story wouldn't be doubted, the wife even got a cut on her stomach to show that the 'delivery' had happened through Caesarean section! This is the kind of taboo that still surrounds surrogacy, both for the surrogate and the couple concerned. There is so much pressure to have your child and take the lineage forward.
Soham, what was your reaction when you heard this story for the first time?
Soham: I was very motivated by the story and the scene I auditioned for was also very powerful. We collaborated before this with Kabir Singh for which they were the dialogue writers.
Something surreal happened while we were shooting in the village of Vaso. While coming back after pack-up, I saw a matador filled with pregnant women. That imagery shook me. It is not something we get to see in our daily lives. It not only gave my mind an image of what we were making but also lent me an added responsibility towards the film.
Garima: Before the ban, surrogacy was an industry worth more than Rs 1,300-crore in India. The ban is not the best thing to do, which is what we also say in the film. They should simply regulate it and make it legal.
With a topic as sensitive as this, were there any dos and don'ts while writing and filming?
Siddharth: We didn't have a rulebook but we did operate within a framework. We had to balance the various points of view — the government has a point of view, the people who do surrogacy have a point of view and so do the surrogates.
Garima: We had to make a film that is entertaining enough for viewers to buy a ticket... we couldn't lose sight of that. We couldn't turn it into a documentary. The balance of research and commerce was most difficult to achieve.
Soham: As directors, they were very particular about what they wanted. Yes, we were not making a documentary but they understood the souls of every character. We did only a few workshops and we were encouraged to imbibe the spirit of the film and the characters.
Garima: The film does not say that rich people are bad. That is not the film we have made. Yes, there is societal dominance and the demarcation between the privileged and underprivileged communities. What happens when these two worlds collide? That is what makes Dukaan interesting.
Did you always want to name it Dukaan? It is hard-hitting but may also be interpreted negatively...
Garima: Surrogacy is a business... we are all aware of that. But it can't just be a medical procedure. There is a nine-month window during which the surrogate carries the child. We saw them do baby showers in that surrogate house where they live together. That means there is some level of emotional attachment to the child.
Siddharth: As far as the title is concerned, the doctor who acted as an adviser to us in this film had huge apprehensions. She is the one who started the surrogate industry in the country. She has given TED talks and been on the cover of TIME magazine.
Garima: She asked us: 'Are you guys trying to say that I am running a shop here?! It is not a business.' We told her that what she was saying was right, but one cannot deny the transactional nature of surrogacy. It is not an NGO, there is a monetary transaction involved. The surrogate herself is doing it for money. She came around finally.
Was there any apprehension when Mimi, in which Kriti Sanon played a surrogate and won a National Award for it, came out?
Garima: Mimi is not an original film... it is the remake of the Marathi film Mala Aai Vhhaychy! We only care about original content. Mimi was more of a project that cast a glamorous person and made the film in a certain glamorous tone. I can understand why you might want to compare the two... the emotion of motherhood remains the same.
Siddharth: Also, a surrogate cannot have a child till she has a baby of her own. A virgin or a newly-married woman cannot become a surrogate. That was the rule back then. What Mimi shows is not factually true.
What works for the creative collaboration you have shared for so many years now?
Siddharth: We don't need a third person to criticise us... we do it to each other!
Garima: We are each other's biggest admirers as well as worst critics. His reaction to a given thing is the same as mine. We end up disliking and liking the same things. That works very well for this partnership
Siddharth: There is also mutual respect and a lack of ego.
How do you think the status of writers has improved in Bollywood?
Garima: Is it better? We are still far from it. Yes, some directors are secure about their writers, but most aren't. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who we have worked with, are secure people. They know where they are, and what they are doing and they are very respectful towards their writers. Sandeep Vanga recently did an interview on Animal with his writer sitting beside him, which is beautiful. This is not common in the industry. We feel most respected on a Bhansali set because he values every written line.
Siddharth: A writer's job is very creative... it is about imagining things out of thin air. And yet writers don't get the credit or respect they deserve. Pick any new trailer on YouTube... you will see the actor's name, the director's name, the producer's name and even the music label's name, but not the name of the writer. We are the invisible surrogates of the industry.
