Why did you choose a wrestler and a courtesan as your lead characters?
I started with the character of the pehelwan (wrestler) Ustad Ramzi. The idea was to investigate the relationship with his art, power, and strength. As I looked at the subject, everything around him began to roll in, gradually. I began to see the lives around him. I learnt that courtly arts were intrinsic to the princely states. There were sponsors and patrons for kothas. After Partition, these were abolished; there was no support for courtesans to continue their art since most kothas were attached to Maharajahs who had to give up their titles and other indulgences.

Pic courtesy/ Arif Mahmood