Fiza, released in 2000, celebrates its 25th anniversary today. On this milestone, the film’s writer-director, Khalid Mohamed, shares, “These 25 years seem like yesterday. Looking back, there’s a sense of self-fulfilment and pride.” He calls actors Karisma Kapoor a “dream to work with” and Hrithik Roshan the “most immersive” actor.

Khalid says he wasn’t meant to helm the film originally but was “pushed into directing” after filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, the first choice, didn’t work out. It was cinematographer Santosh Sivan who stepped in with a suggestion: “Why don’t you direct it yourself?” Later, Karisma also joined Santosh in encouraging Khalid.

Though Khalid had written screenplays for films like Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001), directing had its own challenges: “Of course, there were some tough days, like when we didn’t have enough resources to show a large room.”

Funding was also major concern until a new producer came on board. “The film had been started with loans derived from friends by co-producer Pradeep Guha and myself,” Khalid explains.

Sharing how the music became a huge asset to the film, he muses, “I lucked out.” Anu Malik “was in his element”, and A R Rahman composed Piya Haji Ali for free. Gulzar’s lyrics for Aaja Mahiya also “worked wonders for the song,” Khalid adds.

Shabana Raza Bajpayee recalls playing Shehnaz Sulaiman, Hrithik Roshan’s love interest in Fiza: “I remember when I got the narration of the story. I liked it so much, not just its canvas but the bunch of talented people who were involved .”

The 50-year-old actor reveals that her main goal during production was to get director Khalid Mohamed to broaden her role. “My only aim was to somehow persuade Khalid to increase my scenes, as I loved the story so much and, like any other aspiring actor, I wanted to be there in more frames,” Shabana explains, adding, “No one could deter him even a bit from the original plot.”

She also reflects on working with her husband, actor Manoj Bajpayee, who played Murad Khan. “Manoj had a small but memorable role,” she says, adding, “Every character was an anchor to the story in their own way; that’s what makes the film more special.”