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A woman's voice
Writer-director Honey Irani on what makes Armaan special
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Women. They occupy centrestage in her scripts.
Weak or strong, Honey Irani's work has always celebrated the woman. Take Chandni, Darr and Lamhe. And her more recent Kya Kehna!
In 2003, the writer-director will have two films to look forward to.
While Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya, starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta will have Honey's as scriptwriter, the Amitabh Bachchan-Anil Kapoor-Preity Zinta-Gracy Singh starrer Armaan will see her debut as director.
Mother of Farhan Akhtar, who surprised all with his slick and witty Dil Chahta Hai last year, and former wife of poet-lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, Honey Irani's sets are a paean to women.
Kshama Rao discovers a woman armed with a ready wit and an infectious laugh:
How does it feel to finally write and direct your film?
Finally! It is a great feeling to create a film from the story you have written. It is all about words taking shape in the form of visuals. I just love it --- this whole process of shooting my own film --- it is wonderful. I am enjoying it immensely.
The film is set against a medical backdrop. Why is that?
My script, the story, suited the medical profession the best. The situations, my characters, everything just gelled perfectly. Besides, it has been a long time since a film was set in a hospital. You have the regular industrialists' families and business tycoons and I didn't want that in my film.
Is your film a love triangle, between Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta and Gracy Singh?
Yes, though I would call it more a story of relationships between these three people. There is also the father-son relationship between Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor that I am exploring. Both Amitji and Anil play doctors who dream of running a state-of-the-art hospital, but certain circumstances arise which lend to the drama of the film.
Your film has been shot in sync sound. What is your experience with this technique?
The only problem is you have to shoot in 100 per cent silence. Maintaining that is quite tough, but in the long run, it is beneficial. The artistes are completely focused on the scene. And they are spared from undergoing that right emotion, the perfect feeling again while dubbing. I am quite happy with this system.
Why are there so many women behind the scenes on your set?
(laughs) They give the entire unit hell. The reason I have more women assistants --- no offence meant to men --- is they are faster. They pay more attention to detail than men and they are more organised. They get work done well and faster.
In fact, my first assistant is a girl who assisted my daughter Zoya during Farhan's Dil Chahta Hai. I know how they work and I am happy to have a team on the ball.
Though I keep telling them that one of these days, a crane is going to fall on our heads and the men on this set are going to do that (laughs).
Have you discovered anything about yourself in the course of shooting?
(Smiles) Yes, that I am a very cool person. I just did not think I had it in me to tackle so many people on my set and so many departments. Direction is tough, yes. Earlier, I just gave my script to the director and forgot about it.
But while directing Armaan, I have had to look into every aspect of filmmaking. I guess I am doing just fine. I am even enjoying it.
Has Javed Akhtar contributed to the film?
Yes, in the dialogues. He even helped me with the screenplay. Javed was a great help primarily because he is a writer and could see more nuances in the script than I could. His contribution has really been valuable.
Farhan will soon start his second film and your daughter Zoya too is planning a film...
Yes, Farhan's film [Lakshya] will roll early next year. Zoya will start hers the year after that. So you see, there are more writers and directors in the family now.
Very soon we all are going to start hiding our scripts from each other (laughs uproariously).
(Just then filmmaker Rakesh Roshan calls on her cell phone. The two fix up a date to watch the rushes of Koi Mil Gaya. After she hangs up, she says she is delighted to hear from Roshan that the film has shaped up well.)
India News Feature Service
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