‘I Wanted To Make A Happy Film’

‘I
wanted
people
to
know
that
women
across
all
ages
have
an
exciting
life.’

Tahira
Kashyap
Khurrana‘s
long
last
dream
came
true
when
her
debut
feature
film



Sharmajee
Ki
Beti
released
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.

It
was
not
easy,
as
it
took
her
seven
years
to
see
it
on
screen.

But
film-making
is
not
new
to
her.

Tahira
made
her
first
short
film

Toffee
in
2017,
followed
by
a
segment
called

Pinni
in
the
Web
series

Zindagi
in
Short
in
2020,
and
then
directed

Quaranteen
Crush
in
the
Web
series

Feels
Like
Ishq
in
2021.

“Badi
mushkil
se
main
yahan
pauchi
hoon,
yahaan
se
mujhe
dhaka
mat
do.
(After
a
lot
of
struggle
I
have
reached
here,
don’t
push
me
away
now),’
Tahira
tells

Patcy
N/Rediff.com.
“This
is
what
I
want
to
do
for
the
rest
of
my
life.”

Sharmajee
Ki
Beti
must
have
been
your
dream
ever
since
your
first
short
film
released.

Yes.
It
took
seven
years,
so
it
feels
beautiful.

I
am
overwhelmed
and
numb
at
the
same
time.

The
film
got
released
last
year
at
MAMI
and
received
a
lot
of
love.
Now,
it
has
released
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.

It’s
been
a
very
beautiful
journey,
a
long
one,
but
nonetheless
gratifying.

Why
did
you
think
of
taking
the
stories
of
three

betis
(Sakshi
Tanwar,
Divya
Dutta
and
Saiyami
Kher)
rather
than
going
indepth
with
just
one?

There
was
so
much
I
wanted
to
say!

Mujhe
pata
nahi
tha
mujhe
dobaara
maukaa
milegega
ki
nahi
milega
film

banane
toh
mujhe
sab
kuch
kehna
tha…
(I
was
not
sure
whether
I
would
get
another
chance
to
make
a
film,
so
I
wanted
to
say
everything).

Also,
I
did
not
want
to
give
one
woman
all
the
problems.

I
wanted
to
make
a
happy
film.

The
most
organic
thing
was
to
have
women
from
different
age
groups.
My
intention
was
to
capture
women
who
are
below
20
and
above
28.

Usually
in
the
film
industry,
we
only
see
women
in
this
age
bracket.

When
they
age,
they
cease
to
exist.

That’s
why
I
wanted
to
cover
all
the
age
groups.

I
wanted
people
to
know
that
women
across
all
ages
have
an
exciting
life.

In
the
film,
Divya
Dutta
is
a
good
mother
and
an
understanding
wife.
She
pulls
herself
together
when
her
husband
cheats
on
her.
Sakshi
Tanwar’s
working
mother
character
seems
to
neglect
her
daughter.
Saiyami
Kher’s
character
seems
to
be
the
weakest,
as
she
is
a
cricketer
who
is
treated
like
a
doormat
by
her
partner.
What
was
going
through
your
mind
when
you
wrote
these
characters?

Art
is
very
subjective,
and
this
is
your
point
of
view.

The
kind
of
responses
I’m
getting
is
not
just
that
one
character
is
a
clear
favourite.

They
are
different
characters,
and
it’s
about
which
character
lands
the
most
for
you.

I
knows
a
couple
of
20
year
olds,
like
my
ex-manager,
who
had
a
toxic
relationship.
Of
course,
this
is
not
based
on
her
life
because
I
wrote
it
seven
years
back.

She
messaged
me
saying
that
she
could
relate
to
Saiyami
Kher’s
character
because
it
was
less
to
do
with
cricket
and
more
about
her
realising
her
self-worth.

The
boy
could
be
a
green
flag
in
terms
of
loving
his
girlfriend
but
he
was
a
toxic
guy,
who
didn’t
have
any
faith
in
her
job.

He
had
a
particular
definition
of
being
feminine,
like
he
had
a
problem
with
her
big
appetite…

The
women
in
these
stories
do
not
have
earth-shattering
issues;
most
of
the
issues
stem
from
self-worth.

There
is
no
issue
between
Divya’s
character
and
her
daughter,
Swati.
Swati
is
being
immature
but
the
issue
comes
from
Jyoti
doubting
herself
because
society
looks
down
upon
working
women,
especially
in
the
middle
class.

You
feel
Sakshi
was
neglecting
her
daughter
but
it
was
not
neglect.
She
was
just
living
her
life
but
the
daughter
felt
neglected
because
she
has
expectations.

That’s
how
I
felt
as
a
child.

I
call
myself
a
feminist
but
when
I
was
a
child,
my
parents
were
working
but
my
expectations
were
from
my
mother
only.
Whatever
my
father
did
was
a
bonus,
and
that’s
not
cool.

These
women
doubted
their
self-worth.
It
could
be
the
smallest
of
the
issues
but
they
determined
their
life
and
happiness.

But
I
will
surely
work
better
on
my
next
one.

Did
you
always
want
to
write
on
a
women-centric
topic?

When
you
have
films
where
men
are
shining,
we
don’t
call
them
men-centric
films.
We
just
call
them
films.

In
this,
my
women
are
shining
and
the
men
are
in
supporting
characters,
but
why
do
we
call
it
a
female-centric
film?

The
idea
is
to
make
good
films
with
characters
and
stories.

There
should
be
more
representation
of
women
and
their
stories.

My
first
choice
was
women,
and
issues
related
to
them.

Was
it
difficult
to
get
funds
because
the
film
is
about
women?

Yes.
That’s
why
it
took
seven
years
to
make
it.

Fortunately,
the
topic
is
still
relevant,
and
people
are
loving
it
and
finding
it
fresh.

Unfortunately,
if
it’s
relevant,
it
means
that
many
women
are
still
facing
this
problem.

It
took
a
lot
of
time
until
Applause
Entertainment
came
on
board.
They
loved
the
script,
and
it
didn’t
matter
to
them
that
women
were
leading.

Did
you
ever
feel
discriminated
against
due
to
your
gender?

Very
honestly,
no.
But
it’s
not
like
I
haven’t
heard
about
it.

What
I
have
seen
is
that
when
a
man
comes
on
a
set,
he
automatically
commands
respect
by
virtue
of
his
gender
but
a
woman
has
to
prove
herself
time
and
again
in
every
phase
of
life,
whether
she
is
a
director,
or
a
reporter,
or
a
mother.

Women
have
to
win
hearts
and
try
harder
as
compared
to
men.

But
does
that
rob
you
of
opportunity?
I
know
many
female
directors
in
the
industry,
and
they
are
doing
really
well.

Sharmajee
was
delayed
for
many
reasons:
COVID,
the
lockdown,
your
cancer.
What
was
going
through
your
mind
during
these
delays?

That’s
where
your
own
philosophy
and
grounding
helps
you.

I’m
into
chanting
and
meditation,
and
that
gives
me
calm
and
patience.

The
other
thing
is
that
I
don’t
know
to
give
up.

There
were
a
lot
of
frustrating
days,
when
I
would
break
down,
but
the
next
day,
I
would
rise
again.

Because
what
else
is
there
to
do?
You
have
to
keep
hustling
for
yourself.

Also,
I
used
this
time
to
write
more
scripts.

So
what
next?

I
am
doing
a
film
with
Guneet
Monga.
And
there’s
another
one
too.

You
have
worked
in
a
radio
station,
taught
mass
communication
in
Mumbai,
written
books,
written
scripts,
tried
your
hands
at
direction.
What
would
you
like
to
do
next?

Badi
mushkil
se
main
yahan
pauchi
hoon,
yahaan
se
mujhe
dhaka
mat
do.
(After
a
lot
of
struggle
I
have
reached
here,
don’t
push
me
away
now).

This
is
what
I
want
to
do
for
the
rest
of
my
life.

I
want
to
write.

I
want
to
direct.

I
want
to
make
films.

I
have
a
lot
of
love
for
the
craft.

 

Sharib
Hashmi
plays
a
supportive
husband
and
hands-on
father.
Is
Ayushmann
Khurrana
like
that?

I
like
the
way
you
connected
Sharib
with
Ayushmann
(Laughs)

I
think
I
saw
Sharib
as
my
father.

My
parents
had
this
kind
of
relationship.

My
father
was
a
journalist,
and
would
work
in
shifts.

So
there
were
days
when
he
would
dress
me
up
for
school,
as
my
mother
was
working.

He
would
run
the
errands
that
a
mother
would.

At
that
time,
99
percent
of
my
friends
had
homemaker
mothers,
who
would
look
into
every
aspect
of
their
life.

My
father
was
the
most
supportive
husband
I
have
seen,
so
that
part
of
the
story
comes
from
there.

He
would
chop
vegetables
for
mom,
and
she
would
cook.

Their
roles
were
divided,
as
were
the
bills.
The
electricity
bills
would
be
paid
by
my
father
and
my
mother
would
pay
the
education
bills.

It
was
so
beautifully
divided
between
them
that
now
that
they
are
retired,
they
are
running
their
home
based
on
their
pensions
and
are
beautifully
contributing.

Since
both
Ayushmann
and
you
are
in
the
same
field
now,
what
are
your
dinner
table
conversations
like?

We
are
very
fortunate
to
have
common
areas
of
interest,
so
when
we
come
home,
there’s
a
lot
to
talk
about.

But
when
we
talk,
it’s
not
work
for
us.
It’s
something
we
both
are
very
invested
in.

He
bounces
off
his
scripts
with
me,
and
I
do
the
same.

Our
opinions
matters
to
each
other.

When
will
I
direct
him?

I
don’t
know,
he
is
a
senior
in
the
industry.

I
need
to
write
a
script
in
which
I
see
him,
and
it
needs
to
be
one
that
he
likes.