Mumbai:
Debutant director Habib Faisal says that his film 'Do Dooni Chaar', releasing this week, is a story about the state of teachers in India.
The film starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, who makes a comeback to silver screen after 30 years, will release on October 8. Rishi plays a mathematics teacher.
About the movie, Habib said many personal experiences have found their way into the screenplay.
"Often with my father, I would run into some ex-student of his, all grown up, in a swanky car. The student would be gushing, thanking my father for all the good things he taught, which made him successful. My father on his old scooter would be pleased by the gratitude, thrilled selflessly to see his student doing so well. And I, a teenager, would be sitting on the pillion cursing him for having opted for such a low-salary profession. Such and other incidents also found their way in the screenplay," the
director said.
He said 'Do Dooni Chaar' deals with two universal truths...everybody wants to buy a car and that a car is not just a mode of transport, it is a status symbol. Secondly, teaching is a thankless profession; however hard our teachers (specially school teachers) work, teachers don't get their due.
The idea to make a movie took shape when Tata Motors launched the idea of the world's cheapest car Nano.
"What struck me was that even with petrol prices escalating, massive traffic jams and pollution that can kill you there was so much excitement at the prospect of becoming car-owners," he said.
He said he researched the lives and economics of teacher-families. Teaching is treated as a noble profession, teachers are expected to make 'good boys and good girls' out of their students but the so called 'nobility' is not adequately paid for. "A teacher is expected to look after his/her own family and their aspirations with "nobility" and that does not buy anything," he said.
Instead of looking for reel-life drama and making the characters look gorgeous, Habib said he cast Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh as very lower-middle class middle-aged parents and challenged them to transform themselves. "They are brilliant and their presence in the film surely qualifies it as a mainstream entertainer," he said.
Inspired by filmmakers who have used songs very well never, letting the narrative flow stop and with some experimentation of his own, the director said he incorporated four songs in the film. "They help me move the story forward while entertaining and add a rhythm and pace to the film," he said.
Habib said he wanted the film to give the audience a sense of casually bumping into the Duggals as they are walking down a road in a residential colony, a grocery store or a school becoming friends and unobtrusively hanging around with them to see their ordinary yet dramatic lives in their home.
"I have showcased the lives of this Delhi family. The idea was to capture a city that is speeding down the path of development, while its dwellers are being left behind," he said.
The film starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, who makes a comeback to silver screen after 30 years, will release on October 8. Rishi plays a mathematics teacher.
About the movie, Habib said many personal experiences have found their way into the screenplay.
"Often with my father, I would run into some ex-student of his, all grown up, in a swanky car. The student would be gushing, thanking my father for all the good things he taught, which made him successful. My father on his old scooter would be pleased by the gratitude, thrilled selflessly to see his student doing so well. And I, a teenager, would be sitting on the pillion cursing him for having opted for such a low-salary profession. Such and other incidents also found their way in the screenplay," the
director said.
He said 'Do Dooni Chaar' deals with two universal truths...everybody wants to buy a car and that a car is not just a mode of transport, it is a status symbol. Secondly, teaching is a thankless profession; however hard our teachers (specially school teachers) work, teachers don't get their due.
The idea to make a movie took shape when Tata Motors launched the idea of the world's cheapest car Nano.
"What struck me was that even with petrol prices escalating, massive traffic jams and pollution that can kill you there was so much excitement at the prospect of becoming car-owners," he said.
He said he researched the lives and economics of teacher-families. Teaching is treated as a noble profession, teachers are expected to make 'good boys and good girls' out of their students but the so called 'nobility' is not adequately paid for. "A teacher is expected to look after his/her own family and their aspirations with "nobility" and that does not buy anything," he said.
Instead of looking for reel-life drama and making the characters look gorgeous, Habib said he cast Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh as very lower-middle class middle-aged parents and challenged them to transform themselves. "They are brilliant and their presence in the film surely qualifies it as a mainstream entertainer," he said.
Inspired by filmmakers who have used songs very well never, letting the narrative flow stop and with some experimentation of his own, the director said he incorporated four songs in the film. "They help me move the story forward while entertaining and add a rhythm and pace to the film," he said.
Habib said he wanted the film to give the audience a sense of casually bumping into the Duggals as they are walking down a road in a residential colony, a grocery store or a school becoming friends and unobtrusively hanging around with them to see their ordinary yet dramatic lives in their home.
"I have showcased the lives of this Delhi family. The idea was to capture a city that is speeding down the path of development, while its dwellers are being left behind," he said.
