Why Qarib Qarib Singlle Was Special For Irrfan Khan

You may know her as Mrs Irrfan Khan. But  Sutapa Sikdar  is a  talented writer  and  a producer.Yes, she  co-produced her star-husband’s  film Qarib Qarib Singlle which clocked four years  on November 10.

And Irrfan Khan was  very proud of her.

In an interview with me after the  film’s release Irrfan Khan had said,  “Sutapa  has done it all on her own. I  am just an actor in the  film. My   character in  Qareeb  Qareeb Singlle   is….annoying, borderline  obnoxious. But he is also a decent human being who respects women and  beats  up anyone who disrespects them. I had  to play him as a coarse even crass man. But still a decent man.It is very important me to show my characters as  respectful towards women. When I  read  the script Yogi came across as someone loud in dress manner and conversation. The  kind of attention-seeker who makes you cringe. I had to find the basic core of humanism in him and work my way around that.”

Irrfan Khan liked the way Qarib Qarib Singlle  portrayed  the  female protagonist.  “It is a bright rom-com and I like what  it has  to say about the  courtship stage  of  a relationship when everything is bright and rosy and glowing between  the couple when both the people in love with each other are on their  best behaviour. It is the most hopeful  stage of  a relationship and according to me, the  best part of a  man-woman relationship. Later possessiveness, jealousy, anxiety and insecurities creep into a relationship and cause its downfall.”

After Mira  Nair  Irrfan Khan got to work with another female director Tanuja Chandra  in Qarib Qareeb Singlle.Irrfan disagrees with the contention that women are more sensitive to the nuances  of the  man-woman relationship.  “In Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster Returns  the Bibi’s part was one of  the  best written for a  female actor. I think filmmakers  like Raj Khosla and Vijay Anand understood women as well as  women directors, if not better. And  it  was a  man (Shailendra) who wrote Katon se kheench ke yeh aanchal for Waheeda Rehman in Guide. It is the ultimate anthem of women’s liberation.”

Sutapa  had said,  “Actually, this is  the second film of my husband  where I am producer. Earlier I had produced Madari.  But this time for Qarib Qarib Singlle I must say I’ve been far more hands-on. I did everything on my own. It’s been exhausting but an enriching experience.”  Sutapa  who  has set aside her own ambitions to bring up  two sons while husband Irrfan has been out working. “I guess in a way that makes me less of a feminist than some  women would like it to be. I am  okay with that. In fact I don’t want to be labeled  a feminist. I’d rather define my identity  in the way that I am  most comfortable with. I really think we need to stop stereotyping women. A lot of this image-building of women is based on consumerist  theories…women  who smoke, talk loudly or abuse are ‘liberated’. No thanks, then  I am not liberated.Size 0 is not liberating. It is anorexic,” says Sutapa.

In Qarib Qarib Singlle  Sutapa  was  happy to give us a  leading lady who is normal. “Parvathy who plays opposite my husband is  a normal healthy girl . The film has a relatable female protagonist. Not some gym-produced wonder-woman. I think we need  to make  more  movies about real characters, people who are  like us.”