NEW DELHI: SONAKSHI Sinha was apprehensive about Khandaani Shafakhana. Since her debut, the Dabangg actor has decidedly picked family-friendly films. So she was surprised when approached for what sounded like a sex film. The one-liner – ‘a comedy about a girl who inherits her mamaji’s sex clinic’ – felt dodgy. For good measure, Sonakshi’s mother, veteran actor Poonam Sinha, was present at the reading. “We were testing the script with our own mothers to see how acceptable it will be for a family audience,” says Producer Mrighdeep Lamba. “Our film is ultimately aimed at them.”
The reading went well as Sonakshi was hooked. “This is the first time I’ve done a socially-relevant film,” she says, “It raises questions about sexual health and why people shy away from discussing it. We’ve also addressed gender equality. No one bats an eye at a male gynaecologist. But when a girl, wants to run a fertility clinic, people have a problem.”
In the film, Sonakshi plays Baby Bedi, a medical representative in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. Coming from an orthodox family, she sets about the task of raising sexual awareness in the small town. To get people to converse openly about sex, Baby teams up with Gabru Ghataak, a local pop star, portrayed by rapper Badshah.
“I picked up details from fellow pop stars in Punjab. I was nervous about remembering my lines on set but it worked out smoothly,” says the rapper, then weighing in on the film’s subject. “I’ve addressed domestic violence and female foeticide in my music before. This is the first time I got to do something on screen.”
Director Shilpi Dasgupta views sex education as an urgent cause across India. “There are a couple of areas where we as a country lead: first is depression, second is sexual repression. As a society, we are not allowed to understand ourselves.”
Lamba previously directed slacker comedies Fukrey and Fukrey Returns. The filmmaker feels audiences are finally warming up to offbeat subjects. “Earlier we had Chupke Chupke (1975) and Mirch Masala (1987). In recent years, Vicky Donor and Badhaai Ho took that extra leap. None of the films were vulgar. PadMan and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha were also great initiatives.”Khandaani Shafakhaana also stars Annu Kapoor, Priyanshu Jora and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and releases on August 2.