Mumbai boy Aliakbar Campwala to present his new film at Cannes

A rippling laugh later actor Sarita Joshi tells us ldquoBurkha burkha mein farak hairdquo We agree There are the stark black burkhas bejewelled iterations for the fashionable and then there are the springtime versions worn by Bohri women In Joshirsquos case the discussion about burkha species can extend to her roles as well The veteran starred as a Gujarati matriarch in the TV series Baa Bahoo Aur Baby an austere mum in 2008 Bollywood film Dasvidaniya who is paid homage through the song Meri Ma and as the doting valueupholding and ghunghatwearing mother of Dhirubhai Ambani played by Abhishek Bachchan in Mani Ratnamrsquos GuruAbove A still from Samuel Street which features newcomer Saif Thakur and veteran actor Sarita Joshi belowIn her latest role in a new film titled Samuel Street the veteran actor plays a different mother mdash burkhaclad middleclass and a Muslim from Masjid Bunder ldquoShe is a typical Mohammedian character She is modern but is part of the society that she lives inrdquo says Joshi Samuel Street directed by Aliakbar Campwala gets screened at Cannes on May 14 in the Marcheacute du Film section a hub for young professionals to further their projects For Campwala 35 who resides in Bedfordshire UK this film has meant revisiting his childhood home in DongriStreets of Masjid BunderAn introduction to the original Samuel Street goes thus The street is named after a rather knightly soldier with the British East Indian Army Samaji Hasaji Divekar In the Englishspeaking world Divekar a Bene Israel Jew was known as Samuel EzekielLocated behind the ornate Minara Masjid and flanked on one end by Dongri Samuel Street is now home to Shia Sunni and Khoja Muslims The houses are said to be at least a century old and elevatorless the inhabitants mainly from lower and middle classes Admittedly this is the description of practically every street in Masjid Bunder and DongriThe premise is ripe for conflict when a Samuel Street mother ShereBano meets her son Moosa played by Saif Thakur on a visit from the UK where he now residesBut Campwala wants you to be surprised Negotiating strong winds in a highrise apartment in Jakarta he says ldquoI wanted to make a film set in South Mumbai with a Muslim backdrop and show a different perspectiverdquo The long street he continues is business heavy on one end and runs up till Dongri infamous for its mafia gangs ldquoBut when you take a peek into the lives of its people they are simplerdquoFor Campwala Samuel Street is impervious to change Its residents continue to lead modest lives and their world is limited to their immediate environment ldquoPeople talk a lot about other people Who is getting married Who hasnrsquot married Who doesnrsquot have a kidrdquoCampwala who has lived abroad for more than 15 years repeats a clicheacute that Mumbai has a special place for him He then points out a stereotype Mainstream Bollywood which investigated the heart of the partdesipartvidesi with the gusto of scientists in search for intelligent alien life has largely ignored the Muslim NRI experience ldquoIn Muslim families itrsquos common to have relatives abroad How do they deal with each otherrdquoHe explains that an NRI is not always glamorous the way Karan Johar made it out to be The Muslim NRI could very well be working in the Middle East alienated from his wife and children whom he left behindMother powerThe other stereotype that Campwala seeks to break is the image of the browbeaten Muslim woman ShereBano we are told is dominating to the point that she fires her servant when she learns her son is visiting ldquoShe believes her son will do everything for her nowrdquo says CampwalaBut the comic the conservative and the unconventional in the film are not without emotional truth hopes Campwala The mother is a single woman braving storms of narrowmindedness and at the same time addressing the loneliness of her lifeThere will be no singing or dancing in Samuel Street Campwala who has done his MA in International Cinema from the University of Bedfordshire says he has brought to it a realism inspired by Satyajit Ray and French New Wave cinema of the 1950s More importantly being a local boy from Dongri helpedFor Joshi who trades the bright sarees of TV serials to play a Muslim character for the second time in her career frequent visits to Dongri helped finetune her role She studied the women in the neighbourhood imbibed an Urdu lilt to Hindu and got hold of some local idiosyncrasies She reveals she played the role without knowing the end of the story ldquoThe director wanted it to be a surprise and I want it to be a surprise for you toordquo she says