India’s celluloid connect to Afghanistan is not just limited to Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 1992 film Khuda Gawah or John Abraham’s 2006 film Kabul Express. In a unique venture, an Indian team comprising filmmakers and technicians collaborated with Afghani directors to make A Man’s Desire for Fifth Wife, a film in Dari language. Dari is one of the two official languages in Afghanistan.
This film has become first Indo-Afghan joint venture among the private directors and producers, after the last joint effort in 1947. It cost between $1.5-2 million, which included heavy bills on ensuring security.
Entirely shot in Afghanistan with local actors—many of them had fled the country after threats from the Taliban—the film was cleared by the Indian censor board last week. Apart from the Indian technical team, famous music composer Ravindra Jain provided the background score for the film.
A Man’s Desire for Fifth Wife is a love story where a man goes on looking for a fifth wife, though he is allowed only four. It portrays centuries-old tradition of northern Afghanistan and violence against women in present day Afghan society. The 90-minute film includes the cast of Shakhnaza Jabirwa, Waisuddin Samil, Takmina Rajabova, Emam Berdihof, Saher Parniyan, Maymoona Ghazai, Sahar Parniyan and Tahnima Jann.
Before releasing the film with subtitles for Indian audiences, the film’s crew will hold a premiere in Delhi on August 29. As India is closely associating with Afghanistan government on various fronts, the premiere would see Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and a host of Afghani ministers attending the show.
The film’s India connection started when Afghanistan-based production company Altin Films, led by director Mohd Sediq Abedi, began to look for technical help to shoot the film. They were searching for someone to lend them cameras and other equipment to shoot the film. “After failing to draw any help from countries like Russia and Iran—as no one was willing to lend them expensive cameras and other equipment for the war-ravaged country—they came in contact with us through our Tajiki friends,” Sanjay Bhan, who worked as production designer for the film, told The Sunday Standard.
Bhan’s wife Neelofar Shama is the associate director of the film. Both of them run a production company in Delhi, and have been making films and serials.
“We put together a team of people involving camerapersons and technicians. A week before we were to travel to Afghanistan, their former president Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed by a turban bomb in September 2011. We convinced our team to travel to Afghanistan, and shot the film in 42 days in northern Afghanistan,” Bhan said.
After being provided security by the local police and army, the team shot the film. “There are scenes on Buzakashi which had over 700 horses and 12,000 men, and my wife was the only woman,” Bhan added. Since local traditions do not allow young women to act, most of the women in the film are from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and only aged women are from Afghanistan, Shama said, adding that the main actress was from Afghanistan but emigrated from the country after the film was completed. The crew also had artistes from Russia and Canada. She also said she could see many local women watching her enviously from a distance.
The film was screened at Boston Film Festival in April and has been nominated at various other film festivals.
- Sunday Standard