Dia Mirza: Silk And Steel

Years ago, in an interaction , Dia Mirza had spoken about how human potential was not always an explosion but a slow release of energy and intention. Even then it was obvious that being a model and the winner of Miss Asia Pacilfic International was incidental for her because she did not seem in any hurry to court fame. The phrase that had come to mind then was ‘silk and steel.’

Born to a German father and a Bengali mother, Dia grew up suffused with idea of harmony in multiplicity. She did not jump into films at the first opportunity and finished her graduation in Arts.

There still is nothing obviously vehement about her or aggressive. But there is always a sense of purpose..something that is quietly strong and resolute. That persistence has manifested many new dimensions. She is now a producer. An activist. And more importantly, someone totally content and unthreatened in her space. “I have never been happier, ” she says.

She campaigns for issues close to her. Environment, female foeticide, cancer, HIV awareness and the need to address alcoholism without shame and fear. It has also never been important for her to be at the centre of every frame and that is why her second production after 2011’s Love Breakups Zindagi does not star her but Vidya Balan in the lead role.

 Bobby Jasoos with its quirky female detective, its ferociously colourful Hyderabadi backdrop is trending on social networking sites and there is a lot in her life to look forward to and celebrate.

This year, she got engaged to Sahil Sangha, her business partner in her company Born Free Entertainment. And there is Bobby Jasoos, fidgeting for her space in the sun. Here Dia Mirza opens up about the film and what it took to bring it so far.

 You are not starring in Bobby Jasoos..

When we set up Born Free Entertainment , it was with the collective dream to make films with substance and meaning. There was absolutely no mandate to star only me or to only further personal ambitions. Even though I cannot separate the actor and the producer within, my focus is always on how well can a story be told. We as a team look at the big picture.

What sparked off Bobby Jasoos?

Bobby Jasoos came to us as a one line idea, “What do you think of a woman detective being at the heart of a story?” I jumped instantly because the premise was so interesting and we thought we must explore it. The first approved draft set the story in Nal Bazaar, Mumbai, in the bylanes around Mohammed Ali Road.

But then I visited Hyderabad where I grew up and through a window, I saw it flash by me with all the memories. It came back..the flavours, the language and I began to think..this would be a refreshing backdrop for the story. It was going to be an instant clutter breaker.  But the team (co-producer Sahil Sangha, writers Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla and Samar Shaikh) was not that excited because the story had already been written. I just told them, “Come and see the city through my eyes once. So we walked and walked through old Hyderabad’s bylanes, the bazaars, meeting people, listening to their conversations and by hour three everyone was sold. I had to relive my childhood to bring forth everything I had felt and experienced. The food, the discourses, sights, sounds, thoughts, people..everything wove itself into the script.

And the casting?

When the revised script was ready and budgeted, we realised it would be an expensive film. Then the question arose, which actor would bring Bobby to life and live her journey and substantiate the budget?

And there was only one name that came to my mind. Vidya Balan. I have worked with Vidya in Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and I have always loved her and cheered her as she won awards year after year.

I have celebrated her rise because she has conducted her journey, with such dignity and yet such abandon. Since the character of Bobby is free too and wants to reach out to her dreams, we needed an actor who could do justice to her. We had worked hard to make the script irrefusable. My gut instinct was to go to her first and though she took her time to agree, I knew we had her right at the start!

What was the shoot like?

The time spent in hunting for the right locations was enormous. And I did not want to miss the colour and clamour of Ramzan and so we shot during that season to capture all its vibrance.

Vidya was supercharged and everything just fell into place. In between my mother had a heart surgery and the shoot had to be pushed by two days but everything happened at the time it did, for a good reason.

How did you choose the director?

The decision about who would direct the film also came from the heart. Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla had worked on the additional dialogues on our first production Love Breakups Zindagi  and Bobby Jasoos was her husband Samar Shaikh’s idea.

His investment was so much in the project that even though he has never directed a full-length feature before, we entrusted him with the film.

The fortunate part was that Vidya is a director’s actor. She was very protective of Samar and wanted that we should not get actors who would talk down to him and push him around. We got the best technicians to support him. The outpouring of love for Bobby Jasoos’ first trailer is just the beginning. I am not thinking too much at the moment except that this energy continues to permeate till July 4 when the film will release. It will be a validation of all that we have put in.

Any plans to bring Bobby Jasoos to B’lore?

My career started in Bangalore… many fond memories and a deep connect with the city! I hope we can bring Bobby to you!
 with The New Indian Express  

Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of  Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and  where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and  just be silent with her cats.