'I'm not an accessory to a hero's journey'

says Huma Qureshi, who along with writer-director Bikas Mishra and producer Shiladitya Bora, talks about their upcoming film Bayaan, which is all set to premiere at TIFF

- NAMRATA JOSHI

IT'S exciting times for the team of Bayaan (Testimony) as the film heads for the Toronto International Film Festival, where it's having its world premiere in the Discovery section on September 5. The second feature film of writer-director Bikas Ranjan Mishra after Chauranga (2014), Bayaan is produced by Shiladitya Bora of Platoon One Films. A procedural thriller, it has Huma Qureshi playing the lead role of a cop investigating sexual abuse charges against a cult leader in Rajasthan. Structured around her quest to land a vital witness to pin him down, in the face of unquestioning devotion and firm silence of the closed cult and complicity, corruption, and powerplay within the system and gender discrimination at large, it was supported by the International Film Festival of Rotterdam's Huber Bals Fund.

The script was developed at the Global Media Makers (GMM) programme of Film Independent, Los Angeles. During the residency, Mishra was mentored by Craig Mazin (The Last of Us, Chernobyl) and received advice on the script from writer Jeff Stockwell and story editor Ruth Atkinson. It was also selected at the Asian Project Market, Busan, and is set to play at the forthcoming Busan International Film Festival, shortly after TIFF.

In between their busyness and exhaustion with prepping for their first film outing at TIFF, CE caught up with Qureshi, Mishra, and Bora for a conversation.

Excerpts:

I will begin with Bikas. What took you so long to make your second feature film, after Chauranga back in 2014.