Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; August 13, 2020)

Ten years after making his Bollywood debut as a director with Allah Ke Banday (2010), filmmaker Faruk Kabir is all set to present his next movie, Khuda Haafiz, which releases on an OTT platform this Friday. The film, based on a real-life incident, has Vidyut Jammwal playing a common man on a mission to rescue his wife (Shivaleeka Oberoi), who has gone missing in another country. In a conversation with Bombay Times, the director talks about the long gap between his two directorial ventures, how a Times of India news report inspired him to make this film and working with Vidyut. Excerpts:

What was it about this particular news report that inspired you to make a film on it?
I remember reading this news on page one of The Times Of India. I was immediately drawn to it because of the emotional aspect of the story. I cut the article and kept it with me. That story stayed with me for a long time, so I decided to pursue it further. It’s an inspiring tale of a common man, who sets off to a foreign land to rescue his wife. Neither does he understand the language, nor does he have a support system or money. I liked the basic premise of this article — how far can you go for love? I think it is a relatable topic and that drew me towards it.

This film is based on a real-life couple. Were they a part of the filmmaking process?
I have only met the man, on whom Vidyut’s character is loosely based. I haven’t met his wife. He wanted complete anonymity, so I can’t reveal who he is. It took me two months to build enough trust for him to agree to meet me. He comes from a very simple space, and this journey has been life-changing for him.

Vidyut is synonymous with the action genre, how did you zero in on him to play your common man?
It was during my meeting with the producers of the film that Vidyut’s name came up. I just wanted to cast someone who would surrender to the vision of Khuda Haafiz. After a couple of meetings with Vidyut, I was convinced that he was apt for the role. In fact, I could see similarities between Sameer and Vidyut. I feel it was brave of him to take up this character, because it meant he would have to go against the grain of everything he has worked so hard to build —this larger-than-life action hero image. Here, I was asking him to get beaten, battered and bruised. Vidyut has shown so much maturity, not once did he ask me to make any changes so that he could showcase his action prowess.

After Allah Ke Banday in 2010,why did it take you such a long time to direct your next film?
It’s not like I didn’t work for these ten years (laughs!). I was busy making ad films. I did one beautiful commercial with Madhuri Dixit Nene and another with Virat Kohli, among many other interesting ones. I also directed some amazing web shows. I want the movie-making process to be organic. I want to direct films, for the stories that I am writing. This is one space where you can truly express yourself as a storyteller. It’s not that I don’t wish to direct films that are written by others, but I need to feel connected to these scripts, and that hasn’t happened so far.

Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 11, 2020)

Vidyut Jammwal’s upcoming film, Khuda Haafiz, is inspired by a true story writer-director Faruk Kabir stumbled upon while reading the newspaper. “It was a small article but it stayed with me, which is why I decided to make a film around it. Research took three months and another nine months went in writing the script,” he informs, hopeful that the emotional narrative of how far an engineer from Lucknow would go to save his wife, abducted in another country, will strike a chord with others too.

His leading man is moving away from his larger-than-life action image for his dramatic love story. “You are tempted to make Vidyut do stunts more daring than what he has done before, but I was very clear I wanted him to go against what’s been already done in a way that he owns this space,” says Faruk.

The basic premise of this Kumar Mangat and Abhishek Pathak production is similar to Baaghi 3, which showed Tiger Shroff take on a terror outlet in Syria, after his brother is kidnapped while on an official assignment. Faruk admits that while many have been pointing to the similarity, the films are dramatically opposite with different sensibilities. “Baaghi is fictional and all action, while ours is a love story rooted in reality. I am not worried about any comparisons,” asserts the filmmaker who, having helmed many web shows, is not apprehensive about a digital release. “Some of the biggest properties in the last decade, including Game Of Thrones and Money Heist, are digital releases. I’m just glad our film is getting a release at a time like this. Several filmmakers are in a soup after their shoot was stalled mid-way,” he sighs.

He shares that the entire post-production of the film, which has been extensively shot in Uzbekistan, took place in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown. “You can’t make an entire film sitting at home, so yes, we did step out of our comfort zone to complete the post production. It was challenging, but this is the new normal,” he reasons.

While this is Faruk’s first feature film after the 2010 drama, Allah Ke Banday, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Sharman Joshi and Atul Kulkarni, the filmmaker informs that in the last decade he has directed more than 60 ad films and a few web shows. He made his directorial debut with a short film, The Awakening, with Ajay Devgn. “It was warmly received and while I’m not in touch with Ajay bhai anymore, he is always cordial when I bump into him,” he says fondly.

Meanwhile, the lockdown has given a lot of time to creative people to work on their scripts without distractions. Has Faruk locked his next? “I have written the first draft, but it will take another six month to write a quality screenplay,” he signs off, refusing to divulge details.