India, Pak haven’t shed their colonial past, says Sabiha Sumar

We speak to Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar and actress Kalki Koechlin about Aazmaish, a documentary that explores what binds India and Pakistan, culturally and socially.

Sitting in Mumbai, two friends — one Hindu and another Muslim — discuss the ‘Hinduisation’ of India being a mere political game while the real problem is the poverty that can be witnessed on streets. Similarly, few people in Pakistan are seen talking about the Al Qaeda and Taliban being a part of international conspiracy and how they have nothing to do with the everyday lives of common people. These are two different scenes from the upcoming documentary, Aazmaish directed by Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar. The film also features actress Kalki Koechlin expressing her views on the bilateral relations.   

Aazmaish is a Persian word for trial and the documentary explores how the two neighbouring countries are reeling under the effects of international power games and being torn by politics and yet there is unity when seen from cultural and social lenses. “We all are going through a trial in this life and we grow as we go through these trials. The film explores the trials that the two counties as well as the world is going through. It’s also my search as a woman for the direction my nation should take,” Sabiha says.

While Sabiha has been shooting for this project for three years, she invited Kalki Koechlin to be a part of this project in 2016. After meeting Kalki at the MAMI film festival, Sabiha asked Kalki to get associated with this project. Sabiha, who has earlier directed Khamosh Pani, says, “I wanted Kalki to be in the documentary because I had seen the kind of work she had done. She came across as a very strong and forthright person. These qualities really appealed to me. She also liked my work and we were connected by the fact that we were both asking questions regarding what was happening in our countries.”

Kalki shares that it was very interesting to shoot this documentary as she got to meet so many people from different backgrounds. She agrees that her being a celebrity definitely affected the way the documentary shaped up. “There were times when it was better for me to take a backseat and then there were times that me being a celebrity, also helped. It was interesting to see that people in Pakistan had seen my films and recognised me. It was also helpful as people were more forthcoming because of that,” says the actress. Sabiha adds that Kalki also introduced her to some interesting people in Mumbai.

The film’s proposal was initially floated on an international platform but got successfully funded only when the proposal was floated on an Indian crowdfunding website. “Enough funds poured in from both sides of the border reiterating the fact that people want harmony and peace. It also told me a lot about how human beings are connected on one level,” the filmmaker says.   

Adding to her experience of being part of the project, Kalki says, “I can’t compare the two countries. In the film too, we were looking more at what connected us rather than what separated us. One thing that I observed was that Pakistan is still grappling with the Zamindari system and their economy is mostly dependent on agriculture.” At this point Sabiha, adds, “Both the countries have not been able to shed their colonial past entirely. The level of inequality that is part of both the societies comes from a time long gone by. The Indian bureaucracy was supposed to suppress other Indians and it is still in place. Similarly the education system in Pakistan is very divisive and follows the colonial model.”

But wasn’t it difficult for a Indian star to be part of the documentary by a Pakistani filmmaker at a time when Pakistani artistes are currently banned from working in India? On this, both women almost said in unison that no matter what, the film shooting had to go on. Aazmaish is scheduled to release this year.