Filmmaker Oorvazi Irani’s short film Anahita’s Law premiered last week at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. The event began with a welcome address followed by the 21-minute film that addresses gender bias, the Uniform Civil Code and the dynamics of religion and law. I was asked to conduct a conversation with the filmmaker and we discussed the narrative and the characters of the film in detail. I had many questions to ask her and Oorvazi was happy to elaborate on the structure and the message of the film.
As the producer, director and performer of the film Oorvazi’s attachment to the subject is understandable. I asked her how she retained her objectivity playing so many different roles and how did she know that she needed an extra take when she was the actor as well as the director. “I am also a teacher of acting and therefore critical of my work. I know it instinctively when I can improve with another take and I had able assistants to tell me when they felt a scene was going wrong.”
To be continued