Home and Away: Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin talks about film inspired by her exile

The unnamed protagonist in Nirbashito, played by Ganguly herself, has certainly been styled like Nasrin — she wears her hair short and drapes her sari smartly, much like an airhostess, and lines her eyes with just a hint of kohl. But Ganguly’s interpretation of Nasrin is rather mellow, more restrained than the public persona of the firebrand writer. “Some of my friends who have seen the film have told me that they can’t identify certain aspects of the character. They feel I come across as too passive. I felt it too, but then I realise that Churni had to focus on just one emotional track of my life. The film is not my autobiography and doesn’t attempt to tell the story of my struggle as a writer, a woman,” says Nasrin.

When writer-director Kaushik Ganguly, who co-wrote the film along with Churni, approached Nasrin with the script in 2009, it was meant to be a satire. “It was supposed to be a sharp commentary on the way the government functions. You can see certain elements of it in the film. I was sceptical about the changes that were made later, but Kaushik convinced me that this will be more effective,” says Nasrin.

Churni, who tweaked Kaushik’s script to give it a “universal appeal”, is certain that she never wanted the film to be a biopic. “It is inspired from Taslima’s life, but there are bits in the film which are completely fictionalised. I wanted to how how it feels to be abandoned by your own country, your own people. I wanted to also talk about the pain of leaving something behind. That’s what I wanted to focus on,” she says. The film won two National Awards (Best Bengali film and one of the Best Audiography awards) earlier this year.

In many ways, Nirbashito, indeed, is a safe film. It doesn’t quite explore the reasons behind the protagonist being banished from her homeland, it doesn’t examine the politics. Instead, it leaves it to the viewer to imagine the author’s persecution, the gravity of her situation. “I think that was a conscious decision by the makers. I feel they had to work under a lot of duress. They couldn’t mention my name, they couldn’t talk about specific incidents lest the government decides to ban the film,” says Nasrin.

She would have liked a film on her life to be as “unflinchingly and brutally honest” as her books are. “I have written about my life extensively and I have never skirted around issues. Initially, I was naive enough to believe people when they told me they want to make a film on my life. Mahesh Bhatt had approached me years ago, saying he wants to make a film on my life. I was excited, but nothing came of it,” says Nasrin.

All the same, she thinks Nirbashito is a brave attempt. “At least they dared to bell the cat. They risked a lot for this. Many filmmakers had promised to do the same but couldn’t. It took a brave woman to make a film on another brave woman. That’s what matters,” says Nasrin.