WUNRN
"SAVING FACE" ACID ATTACKS
FILM REVEALS BRUTAL REALITIES & PROVOKES QUESTIONS
July 30, 2012 - Earlier this month,
Asad Faruqi
Brought to
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, one of the co-directors, was present after the film’s
screening in Mumbai to discuss and answer questions. The
interaction, led by the producer and director Kiran Rao of “Dhobi Ghaat” fame,
was a spirited one, with the audience asking about unrelated subjects, from
filmmaking to terrorism, in
The Mumbai audience was enthusiastic about “Saving Face,” which deals with
the difficult subject of female acid attack victims in
One of the film’s protagonists is Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a skilled plastic
surgeon who leaves a thriving medical practice in
“It was pretty hard hitting,” said Abhi Chaki, a Mumbai resident who saw the
film with his wife. “It struck a fine balance between the lighter moments and
the more morbid.” Another viewer, Jai Bhatia, said that he “loved the way the
film was made, because you see the change that takes place.” Mr. Bhatia was
referring to a scene in which a path-breaking bill is passed by
The film aside, the audience appeared to marvel at the articulate and poised
Ms. Obaid-Chinoy. Ms. Obaid-Chinoy said she initially rejected the offer to
work on the film, the brainchild of her co-director, Daniel Junge, because she
was just about to give birth in
“When I began filming, it was very difficult, because it is so visual,” she said, referring to the brutalization of the women’s faces. “The hardest part about making this film was that we were not sure if we would have something people would smile about. We had to make sure we had a fine balance, that there were moments when the audience smiled.”
In response to a question about how she dealt with the anger she said she had, Ms. Obaid-Chinoy was philosophical: “We can’t expect people to see the light when they’ve been kept in darkness. These people don’t know what they are doing is wrong.”
Another audience member, who said he was held hostage during the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, asked about her views on terrorism. Tearing up, Ms. Obaid-Chinoy said that one of her close friend’s father was also a hostage during those days, adding that she had many Indian friends from her college days in the United States.
“We as a nation need to discuss these issues,” she said. “
Asked by an audience member if she thought she had a future in Pakistani
politics, Ms. Obaid-Chinoy, who lives in
Born and raised in
She thought her father would tell her to give up journalism there and then, but he surprised her by saying, “If you speak the truth, I will stand by you and so will the world.” This year, Time magazine named Ms. Obaid-Chinoy one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
“Saving Face” has yet to be released nationwide in
As for the film’s Indian premiere, she found it “incredible,” she said. “So
many people have come up to me here and said, ‘Thank you for showing us a
different narrative of