Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 12, 2019)

As a filmmaker who has spent five years between his first and second film, Ajay Bahl comes across as someone who doesn’t let ups and downs affect him. After making the acclaimed BA Pass in 2013, it took him a few years to reach a studio floor again. As a proud feminist, the directorwriter admits that he didn’t let his views on a sensitive subject like rape clutter his thoughts while filming Section 375. In a conversation with BT, Ajay spoke about hassles faced by women while battling rape cases and why a man, even when not found guilty, can seldom roam freely in society. Excerpts:

You had to wait five years after making a film like BA Pass to find your next assignment as a director. Didn’t the long interval get to you? It didn’t! What are friends for?
There was not one dull day; they would all come to my house and we would party. Aise karte karte, paanch saal beet gaye. After BA Pass, I had signed a film called Citylights, which didn’t work out. I have learnt one thing: never say no to a film and never leave a project midway. In the last five years, I wrote scripts that no one wanted to produce. I also spent time educating myself in different things. I came aboard Section 375 a year ago, with a friend’s recommendation. He’s a co-producer on this and he introduced me into the set-up. If that friend hadn’t helped, I doubt anyone would have thought of me to helm this film.

A film like this has the potential to be accused of taking sides, are you prepared for such feedback?
Look, the film doesn’t generalize anything and it’s silly to do that. It revolves around the proceedings in a single case. With this film, we’re definitely not trying to say that men are not guilty. There are thousands of guilty men all over the place. The issue at hand in the film is a complex one, and both sides think that they are right. The film doesn’t, however, take sides. We’ve left a lot for the audience to decide. As a man, I have my own opinion on the subject discussed in the film, but I’ve not let it trickle into my work. I am a feminist; but it’s a different story that feminism is itself a misconstrued idea today. Not everyone understands what it entails.

Was it very difficult for you to disallow your own views from interfering with the narrative?
Yes, it was. When you make a film like Section 375, you can’t let your feelings dominate the narrative, ever. If you let that happen, it becomes propaganda. I’m like many other people in society, whose views on the subject change with the passage of time, and with more and different kinds of instances being reported. Complex issues like the cases in the #MetToo movement can be seen in two different ways — emotionally where you immediately want to take the accused to task, and objectively where the law and facts become the lens.

Days after the trailer of your film released, a court in Pune summoned your team (including actors) and you for allegedly showing lawyers in a negative light...
The person who raised an objection didn’t realise that when Meera Chopra’s character is being questioned, she is with a medical examiner and a policewoman in the hospital, and not with a lawyer in court or at a police station. In the film, we have also explained why she was being examined by a male and not a female practitioner. The questions she’s asked are a part of the medical assault history, which needs to be corroborated with physical examination. The gaps between the two can benefit an accused. It’s a harrowing procedure, but for the want of justice, one has to bear with it. As for showing lawyers in poor light, I think we always show cops taking bribes and politicians being corrupt; if everyone starts objecting to their portrayal in cinema, we won’t be able to make films. There are all kinds of people in every field. So, that claim doesn’t hold value. It’s not fully shown, but even the proceedings in the film are shown happening with a two-judge bench in camera, behind closed doors. Only people in the room are the ones who have a direct connection with the case. We had a high court lawyer present on the set to ensure that we do not show any proceedings incorrectly.

Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 10, 2019)

In the last decade, the depiction of rape in cinema has gone through a sea change. From being used loosely in a film, as a tool of revenge or a trope to titillate, such scenes now occupy a more sensitive space in a film’s narrative and are central to the plot. For instance, director Ajay Bahl’s courtroom drama, Section 375, revolves around the hearings in a rape case involving a Bollywood director, who is accused by a female member from his crew of raping her at his residence. Akshaye Khanna plays advocate Tarun Saluja, who represents the accused, while Richa Chadha will be seen as prosecutor Hiral Gandhi, representing the victim. Besides Akshaye and Richa, the film also features Meera Chopra and Rahul Bhat.



‘DEPICTION OF RAPE IN FILMS IS NO LONGER FRIVOLOUS’
Talking about the depiction of rape in Hindi cinema, Ajay Bahl says, “Indian cinema has become far more sensitive when it comes to crimes, particularly in the depiction of rape and their placement in the narrative. It’s not frivolous anymore and it’s not just another plot point. I think the change in perspective happened towards the end of the 1990s. I can’t put a finger on what triggered it, but today, if there’s a rape scene in a film, it has to be important to the narrative. I would credit the change to the new generation of filmmakers, who think everything through before incorporating something in their stories. The audience, too, has evolved as they are widely exposed to all kinds of content. They are quick to perceive the intent if you’re doing something to titillate them. Cinema has changed from its formulaic ways to clearer and cleverer narratives. It’s sad, but at one point, rape was the ultimate revenge device in a story. But not anymore, thanks to education and awareness. Besides, the presence of women in powerful positions in the industry — as writers, technicians, editors and marketing heads — doesn’t leave room for anyone to act insensitively towards issues like rape. No woman in the system or in the audience will accept a frivolous rape scene in a film anymore.”

‘IN THE COURT OF LAW, IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN PROVE’
The film also explores the mindspace and the thought process of criminal lawyers. Elaborating on the latter, Ajay says, “This film presented an opportunity to explore the legal system and the world that these lawyers operate in. I got a chance to understand how a prosecutor thinks and how a defence counsel prepares arguments. Before this, my understanding of a criminal lawyer was similar to that of a layman. Even I wondered how could they sleep peacefully after defending someone, who seems to be a criminal. I’ve realised that they have a role to play in keeping the checks and balances, because everyone deserves a trial. Lawyers on both sides are clinical in their approach and they both argue to win. In the court of law, it’s about what you can prove.”



‘AKSHAYE KHANNA IS A MYSTERY TO ME’
Talking about Richa and Akshaye, who play strong characters in the film, Ajay says, “I don’t think anyone can do what they have. This film needed them.” He adds, “I knew just how much Richa was labouring to get into her character. She chose to hang out in courts and draw inspiration from Marcia Clark (lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson murder case) to nail her role, but Akshaye is still a mystery to me. We met a few times and discussed the part and the film. And on the first day of the shoot, he was totally in character. I suspect that he kept meeting lawyers secretly. It is really strange, but even when he would take pauses between his lines, he would breathe like a lawyer in the thick of an argument. That’s why Section 375 could not be made with another set of actors.”

SCIPL presents Section 375, a Panorama Studios Production. The film is produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak and SCIPL, and co-produced by Sanjeev Joshi and Aditya Chowksey. The Anand Pandit Motion Pictures, PVR Pictures and Panorama Studios International release, hits the screens on September 13.