Anubhav Sinha’s Assi — a hard-hitting film that looks at rape and its ramifications — is now playing in theatres. Last week, Sinha — the man behind quality and impactful cinema like Mulk, Article 15 and Thappad — was in Calcutta to promote his latest film. t2 caught up with him for a candid chat at ITC Royal Bengal.
The buzz was that you were making ‘Mulk 2’ and then Assi came out of the blue. How did that happen?
Yes, there was talk that I was making ‘Mulk 2’ but I didn’t react to it and the rumour died on its own. I made Assi in the meanwhile and while I chose not to talk about it myself, there was no hard and fast rule that others couldn’t. Actors work on so many films at a time and go to different sets, so talk invariably comes out. But for Assi, somehow that never happened. My team knows I don’t like to talk about a film until I have finished it or I am releasing it. So maybe they were following that. Hence, people were quite surprised when the first look came out.
The film says that it is "based on everyday news". Was there a specific incident that triggered it?
No, Assi shaped up as a film in my head over a period of time, maybe a year or so.
What have your biggest takeaways been from the experience of making Assi?
I am very happy with the way we shot it and that is something that people are talking about. I am happy with the performances from the ensemble cast. I never set out to make an ensemble film but I have certain relationship privileges that I ended up using and they didn’t mind (laughs).
I am very happy about the fact that I could "feel" like a woman while making it. That was a struggle initially but I became more of a woman making this film. I had already become a bit when I made Thappad. With Assi, the woman in me has woken up more... now I can see things from your viewpoint. I hail from Benaras but growing up, I saw both my parents having an equal say in everything... we weren’t a patriarchal family. That has also influenced me a lot.
You have co-written the story with Gaurav Solanki. At any point, was there the apprehension that a story about crime against women didn’t have a female perspective at the writing stage?
Had Gaurav and I felt inadequate, we would have definitely engaged with a woman. In Thappad, I felt inadequate and I actively looked for a female co-writer (Mrunmayee Lagoo). In the case of Assi, we didn’t feel the need for it. Gaurav is also a very balanced man. We ended up reading a lot of books about women, watching a lot of films about women. They didn’t necessarily belong to the same landscape as Assi, but were more about how women felt in various situations.
I have spoken to a large number of women who have watched the film and they didn’t contradict what we had written. I am sure there is a male gaze because I am, after all, a man. Like I can’t claim that I fully understand caste tragedy just because I made Article 15. I am who I am, but we tried and we never felt we needed help.
The Assi ensemble, as you mentioned, is primarily made up of people who have worked with you in the past. What made you pick Kani Kusruti for the role of Parima, in what is her Hindi film debut?
I really liked her in All We Imagine is Light. For Assi, I was talking to Mukesh (Chhabra, casting director) and describing the kind of girl I wanted for the role. I was sort of describing Kani without naming Kani... it was not a game, I wasn’t aware that I was describing her! Mukesh said: “Kani Kusruti!” I jumped and said: “Yes!” The only hiccup was that she didn’t speak Hindi at that time, so we rewrote the character to that of a Malayali woman.
And you always wanted to name it Assi?
No. There was some concern that since I am from Benaras, it may be thought that I am making a film on the Assi Ghat or on mohalla Assi. But I said: “The title never comes alone... it is always with an image, and then people will know it is not about Benaras or anything vaguely connected to it”.
That is exactly what happened. We opened the trailer with the words: “80 per day, every day”, referring to the number of rapes that are reported in the country every day.
As far as titles go, I always try to go to the core of the story and ask myself why I am making this film, and I try to look for a title there. That is how Thappad came about, though I know it theoretically sounds bad to call a film Thappad (smiles). Today, in hindsight, it sounds unaesthetic.
As a filmmaker, are you still angry? Or have you left that behind now?
I am very disappointed in the human race. There is no other way to say it. I am no longer angry, I am disappointed. We have now reached a stage where we are not even trying to be better. We are discussing missiles as if they are toys. There are wars going on, and even otherwise, people are fighting every day, with words or with weapons.
What about the Hindi film industry disappoints you?
First of all, it is not an industry. Let us accept that. We don’t behave like an industry. This is a bunch of players operating individually. Dharma (Productions) is an industry, Yash Raj (Films) is an industry, T-Series is an industry. We all work in the same business, we live in the same city, but we are not an industry. I have never believed we are one.
Will you ever make something like a Ra.One or even a Tum Bin again? Do you even want to?
You never know. I am not saying yes or no. At some point, I may feel like doing a big commercial film. But it will be different from the commercial fare I have done in the past because I am now addicted to giving voice to a film.
In fact, I was just saying that after the release of Assi, I should just sit down and attempt to write ‘Ra.One 2’, or whatever it may be called. I may not do a good job, I may stop after the fifth page... or who knows, I may write a fantastic script! Maybe I should give it a shot. I haven’t sat down till date to think about it.
I would love to see you make a comedy...
It is so interesting to hear you say this because I am writing one. It has sardonic comedy, not slapstick. I am working on three scripts right now, but I haven’t decided which one I am making next. Normally, by the time I release a film, I know, but this time I don’t. I feel the comedy one will be the next one, though.
I also want to change gears again. I don’t want to be known as this director who picks up a problem every time and makes a film.
Priyanka Roy