Indian society is less homophobic these days, says 'Aligarh' director

The timing couldnt have been better The month of February began with the Supreme Court referring a batch of curative petitions against archaic laws criminalising consensual sexual acts of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender LGBT adults in private and will end with the release of a film on this taboo topicFrom left Actors Rajkummar Rao Manoj Bajpayee director Hansal Mehta and writer Apurva Asrani at the midday office PicDatta KumbharThe team of Hansal Mehtas Aligarh based on life of a university professor who was suspended from job for his sexual orientation is confident about opening up a healthy discussion on the regressive Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code In a freewheeling chat with hitlist Hansal along with his films writer Apurva Asrani and actors Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao talk about the upside and downside of making a film like Aligarh issues with the Censor Board and exploring nonmainstream cinemaFrom left Apurva Asrani Rajkummar Rao Hansal Mehta and Manoj Bajpayee at the midday office PicDatta KumbharQ Aligarh is finally getting a release Its a good sign that such unconventional moviesHansal It is not finally getting a release It was intended to be released in February Last year the movie calendar was packed till December The film was always with Eros and there was never an issue with distribution In a nutshell there was no struggle to release the filmQ Do you feel its a privilege of sorts that a film on a sensitive topic like homosexuality found studio backingHansal Getting studio support was easy They heard the story and didnt treat it as something not mainstream because it isnt so I have spent a major part of my career making mainstream filmsand know that one needs to engage with the audienceYou cannot make films in isolation And I think they understood thatQ But the subject is still considered as a tabooHansal I think we have been conditioned to consider it a tabooQ Dont you agree that we as a society are still homophobicHansal I think we are less homophobic now There is definitely a divide and the problem is that we are not talking about it This film aims to spark off a healthy debateQ Apurva what challenges did you face while writing the storyApurva The struggle was somewhere in our heads You meet a person who is homosexual and when you sit down with himher you realise you can talk to them about normal things like teacoffee or each others families So you know that it is all in your head There was no such struggle except what the Censor Board might think of itHansal They messed with our trailer citing that homosexuality is unconstitutional This has hampered our promotional campaign We could have reached a large number of people if our trailer was certified UA We were not fighting for the films certification in the first place I came out of the Censor Board and never spoke about it But when our trailer was rated as A I got really angryQ Dont you think your war of words with Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani over the certification helped create more curiosity around the filmHansal That is incidentalI want the trailer and not us to be seenApurva Many people are not on social media How will the trailer reach themQ Hansal you have always got yourself in trouble with the Censor BoardHansal Actually I have had less trouble The Censor Board has always picked really silly issues with my films I dont know why they always find me to expose their intellect In Shahid 2013 they removed Shivaji Maharajs name Even in this film they asked for a cut that is downright silly In one of the scenes Manoj is shown sleeping in court and they felt it was contempt of court So I fought with them and they said reduce the duration of sleeping How do I reduce the sleepingQ There are many more things done in courtHansal Sunny Deol has made a career out of it everyone laughsQ What kind of research went into making the film and what kind of debates are you expecting to open up after its releaseApurva The day we screened the film in Delhi for Shashi Tharoor the Supreme Court took the decision to refer Section 377 to a higher bench So our film has got associated with the debate But the research went beyond 377 it focused on the characters life and the injustice that happened in a higher education institute thats supposed to nurture progressive ideas among studentsHansal The fight is beyond 377 Someone barges into your room with a camera and you get into trouble Article 21 of the Indian Constitution says you are entitled to right to privacy and dignityQ Manoj did you have second thoughts about doing a film on such a sensitive subjectManoj Not even for a second Taking up the role was not difficult because I have many homosexual friends My education has been such that I wasnt taught to judge someone by their sexuality Looking at the script I realised that his life was engrossing This was a great opportunity for me to do completely opposite of whatever I have done so far thanks to Hansal No other director would have come to me with the role after I played Sardar Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur 2012Q What do you think of Rajkummar who has been taking up unconventional rolesManoj What I like about him is he wont compromise when it comes to role selection He is stubborn about what he wants He has loads of options to choose from and make money and be happy Kudos to him for saying no to money and yes to good rolesQ Did you have that vision at his ageManoj Yes After Bhiku his role in Satya I was flooded with offers I used to stay in a twobedroom house then and people used to wait to meet me with scripts Some were ready with bags full of cash as signing amount To say no to that kind of money after many years of no money and no food was tough People used to say that I consider myself as Amitabh Bachchan So I was only making enemiesQ So Rajkummar is it becoming difficult for you to say no to filmmakers because then your equation with them will changeRajkummar I dont have to prove anything to anybodyI fell in love with the craft of acting and want to give my best Thats my achievementI am not in any rat race Theres no insecurity if someone my age is making more money and is more famous I am happy with my work and my journey I will explore different things in my own way I wont copy and be part of a herdQ So are you also making enemiesRajkummar Its tough to say no People come up with scripts they are confident about but if I think I dont fit the role I say no Some take it personally