The decades-old murder of Shakereh Khaleeli, which shook the entire nation, has once again become the talk of the town with the docu-series Dancing on the Grave. In an exclusive chat with us, Shafaq Naaz, who plays the role of the former, discusses what went behind making the documentary and some frightening moments during the shoots.
At least we didn’t know who Shakereh Khaleeli was until television actress Shafaq Naaz, who’s playing the role of the former in the newly released docu-series titled Dancing on the Grave, informed us that the royalty was a rich and beautiful lady from an aristocratic family! In 1991, this heiress went missing, and after a few years, her remains were dug out from under the courtyard of her own home in Bangalore.
So this documentary was really important for the producers, directors, and screenwriters to let the masses know how she was drugged, packed in a wooden casket, and, to all your fears, buried alive.
The director found actor Shafaq Naaz to be a suitable fit for it, and even she had accepted the role with so much grace.
So, in an exclusive conversation with the lead protagonist, we begin to hear, “When I was offered the role, I had no idea that the story had actually happened in the late 90s. That was when I started to research! Anecdotes after anecdotes, I realised why the director must have pestered on keeping the title of the series dancing on the grave. It’s a very disturbing story; when I used to return home after shooting, it was very difficult for me to process what happened in a day.”
In a case of a man’s vile greed coupled with the devil’s cunning, the famous Kunti of television goes on to explain, “There was no screenplay, only real archival footage that was dug out! The whole documentary is based on research. There was no script, and I am so used to scripts on television.
Patrick Graham used to come on set, narrate the scene to us, and let us improvise by ourselves. There were no written dialogues either! It was the whole game of body language in the documentary. We were not allowed to misquote, nor were we allowed to concoct the facts at all. We are talking about a royal family over here, and so many prolific people are connected to the story, so we had to be very careful. We were pressurised, frankly speaking. In fact, even right now, while speaking to you, I am very cautious about what I am saying. Shakereh’s family will be going through the interviews.”
The sensational crime that shook India thirty years ago is the subject of this show, named so because of the dance parties Shraddhananda reportedly held in the courtyard where his wife lay buried. In addition, “When the story was narrated to me, we were busy doing look tests. Every time I start a new project — my first concern is to speak to the director and be very transparent with him about my role. I just cannot go on sets without a script; it’s not in my habit! I started interrogating Patrick, and he made me believe that whatever we do, we will do it on the spot, and you will be able to pull it off. This kind of format was really new to me in this industry. Now, when you are having very intense scenes that need a lot of argument, initially I was lost. I cannot argue about anything and everything.
Then came the most disturbing scene of my life—when I had to be buried in a wooden casket. Action Master literally rolled me into the mattress. And then the murderer had to throw me into the casket. Now because there was a certain gap, we had to do a lot of retakes for the same scene because it’s the most important scene of the documentary. And documentaries are felt more deeply because we know deep inside that it has happened for real! That whole sequence was really depressing for me. After going back home, I used to wonder, “Why did this happen to a woman who was so rich and belonged to the royalties?”
Still seeming so unbelievable to the actress, she continued, “Now I understand how difficult it is for an actor to do an autobiography. And me being a Muslim had nothing to do with my role. Yes, there were similarities, but this specific similarity I wouldn’t want to count. I am even more famous for the role of Kunti, which is a totally Hindu character! As far as the right representation is concerned, the religion card should not come into play. Focus on your performance! The rest is up to the creative calls.”
On a final note, she recalls another key anecdote when she says, “For the death sequence, we were shooting in the surroundings of the area. A similar house was rebuilt over there! The pathway to the place where the set was made is very isolated. My packing used to happen on a daily basis around 10:00 p.m. in the night. I was always accompanied by someone until the drive was over! And for some days I actually used to switch on the light and sleep because the whole process was still going on in my mind about what happened to the lead protagonist.”
