More than happiness, director Bikas Ranjan Mishra feels a sense of relief as his next, Bayaan, is headed to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). To him, the world première at the prestigious festival is the culmination of a seven-year journey that involved rejections from multiple production houses. “I took this script to everyone. Every production house in Mumbai has a copy of the Bayaan script,” he states.
Huma Qureshi in ‘Bayaan’
The thriller, led by Huma Qureshi, took its first step towards realisation only when Shiladitya Bora stepped in as the producer. Mishra says, “Huma is the film’s hero, but if there’s one more hero, it’s Shila. In this industry, no one has guts. People are sitting in big offices, but a producer is one who is ready to risk their business for a [good] story.”
Stills from ‘Homebound’ and (right) ‘Bandar’
Equally gutsy is Qureshi, whose investigator character goes to Rajasthan for a case that ends up mirroring the deep-rooted patriarchal society. “We approached other actors and everybody wanted to do it, but they were scared,” Mishra recalls. In contrast, Qureshi was all courage, ready to front a story she believed in. “Apart from being a wonderful actor, she has guts. All the actors hide behind their managers and agents. Huma is the only actor I approached directly. After narrating the story, I told her that no studio or platform was attached. She said, ‘No problem. Send me the script.’ For the rest of the industry, commercial considerations come first. Huma responded to our integrity that we wanted to make the film our way.”
Qureshi’s belief in the material was refreshing for the director, after having met actors who had several criteria that superseded the story. Mishra says, “Many actors were kicked about the role. But they wondered, ‘Will the film get a platform? Will people go to theatres to watch a small film?’ There were actors who were cast, but they ran away because they got a three-day role in a big male star’s film.”