Vishal Bharadwaj, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Ali Fazal recently appeared on the exclusive segment ‘On The Scene,’ to talk about their film Khuifya. The movie is an official adaptation of the acclaimed spy-fiction novel, Escape to Nowhere by Amar Bhushan.Together the trio spilled the beans on what it was like working on such a project, and for the first time with each other.
Find out more below:
Bharadwaj on mistakes being a part of the process, “There is a scene where for the first time Ali and Wamiqa confront each other. The first day we shot this scene, we made a mistake because in the scene she gets hit on her forehead. But when I saw the mark of the wound, it was not clear, and it appeared as if weeks or months had passed since the wound. I was very conscious of that because while you shoot, a phase comes where you start doubting everything around you. But now when I see it, it’s not that visible, it’s subtle.”
Bharadwaj on the challenges of making an adaptation and how to overcome them, “Every adaptation has its own challenges.This one lacked a human story. It had a solid plot, but it lacked a third act. It had a very good, clean, cold, detailed account of an espionage operation by an intelligence agency. It was exciting to create the humanness, the relationships of people, bring the conflict in them and explore the human psyche.”
Fazal on Bharadwaj’s direction: “There is a small scene where I run to Wamiqa and I tell her a story. It was maybe my first day, and sir came over and asked me to start cussing before telling the story. It felt odd. Last-minute sir came in and asked me to cuss in my mind and not say it out loud. I don’t know why that particular scene is stuck in my head. There were many other scenes where there was a lot of ‘beautiful manipulation’ by him. In that scene, the line never changed, but my tone did.”
Bharadwaj on working with Tabu, “Tabu is a very fine actor. She is a very nuanced actor and a sensitive person.She has a solid sense of humour. All these things make her a beautiful woman who is very sophisticated in her performance. On top of that, I have such a deep understanding with her, almost like that of a soul mate. We don’t have to speak to each other, but we know what we mean to each other.”
Gabbi on the challenges of playing her character, “I was working with Vishal sir for the first time so I was very nervous and excited.My character is very complex because of her journey. It was difficult to understand her the way she was. And her journey in the second half of the film is just too heartbreaking. I think I was the most vulnerable doing those scenes.”
