I'm a democratic dictator: Farooki

When you look at the title of Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's latest Chorki film, the mind naturally gravitates to the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's memoir of the same name. 

Which leads us to ask, exactly how much of 'Something Like an Autobiography' was real and how much of it was fictitious? Farooki promptly responded to this by saying the fact-to-fiction ratio was, "60:40."

Further explaining where a filmmaker draws the line between fact and fiction, Farooki reiterated that it varies from one filmmaker to the next, depending on their philosophy and what they wanted to achieve with the film. Of course, there are caveats, as real-life incidents can never be holistically represented in films; that is when the filmmakers construct their own reality.

"I'd say 60% (of the film) is factual and 40% isn't. However, that 'unfactual' 40% is not fake either. Doesn't mean it's not the truth. You can express the 'truth' differently. You can tweak the narrative so that the underlying truth remains the same but the facts change," said Farooki.

There's no doubt that 'Something Like an Autobiography' was inspired from real life incidents and experiences of Farooki and his wife and co-star on the film Nusrat Imrose Tisha. But does crafting a film out of their own life stories make the task any easier for the director?

Farooki believes that translating real life into reel life is all the more challenging and that the challenges are two-fold. The primary challenge they (Farooki and Tisha) faced was the dilemma regarding disclosing their vulnerable moments in front of everyone.

Photo: Collected

"Art is all about confession and an artist's works should testify to the time they are living in. That is why we decided to portray such moments, even though they made us feel extremely vulnerable. We embraced all these vulnerabilities," he said.

Their second challenge was the risk of glorifying themselves and their characters, to make themselves look like saints, which Farooki asserts they categorically tried avoiding.

"We did not try to portray ourselves as saints, didn't want to glorify ourselves. We only wanted to portray the time that we have been living in, with all the pros and cons of our lives."

One aspect of 'Autobiography' that truly stands out is how the film addresses the dynamics of Farhan (Farooki) and Tithi's (Tisha) relationship. More to the point, how it grazes upon the concept of 'letting things slide' in a marriage. 

Midway into the film when Farhan and Tithi's dreams of conceiving a baby are hanging by a thread, Tithi discovers that Farhan had revealed extremely personal details of their pregnancy issues to an ex-partner of his; whom he was not supposed to have any sort of contact with in the first place. However, Tithi did not bring it up even once. Rather, she surprised her husband with the unexpected news of her pregnancy.  

"Maybe she never confronted Farhan because she was waiting for the right moment. She herself was going through many things, battling many demons. Probably if things progressed further, she would have confronted him" said Farooki.

"But that's life, isn't it?" he continued. "It's full of ifs and buts. Tithi herself resorted to contacting the character of Iresh Zaker to get her husband released from prison. It would've left Farhan equally angry had he known that Tithi contacted the guy. Just like life, relationships aren't black or white. It's grey."

Just when things were starting to look bright for the couple, a very harsh reality hit them, a reality that essentially showcases how influential people in Bangladesh abuse and exploit their power; the extent to which they exercise their entitlement and bigotry.

One fateful night, Farhan and Tisha felt helpless when deafening noises of fire crackers and loud music from a nearby building triggered an unhealthy amount of 'kicking' from their unborn foetus. Trying to take matters into his own hands, Farhan stormed into that building and demanded that the party on the rooftop be stopped immediately - initiating a counter ambush leading to Farhan being confined and held against his will in a room by the group.

As fate would have it, that building belonged to a very powerful and influential person named Azhar Mahmud (Monowar Hossain Dipjol). The same Azhar Mahmud against whose corruption during the Covid -19 pandemic Farhan had posted multiple Facebook statuses.

"In this world, you cannot voice your opinion against the powerful. If you raise your voice, you're in trouble. Farhan paid the price for voicing his opinions on social media and a lot of people go through similar ordeals whenever they speak out," said Farooki.

Azhar's men had a very straightforward deal for Farhan - apologise to Azhar by kneeling down in front of him in submission, or rot in jail for a long time and miss the birth of his first child. Farhan, for the greater good, gave in. 

Farooki believes that was the moment which felt most relatable to his viewers. 

"I was wondering why people are loving this film so much, and I think it's because they can find themselves in the story of Farhan and Tithi. Many have told me that they themselves felt offended and enraged when Farhan had to beg for forgiveness at the feet of Azhar Mahmud," said Farooki.

"I myself went through such insults so many times. Every time a film of mine gets stuck, I have to turn to powerful people and beg as such. Every time I come out, I feel like crying and I ask why I subject myself to such treatment, why do I even make films. The insult is insane," he added.

Before wrapping up our conversation, we had to ask the seasoned filmmaker about his experience of making his debut as an actor. We asked him whether all the experience gathered from working behind the camera translated seamlessly in front of the camera.

"I think a filmmaker should have the knowledge of who and what he wants in an actor. Sometimes if needed, I try acting out the scenes while directing so that I can show my actors what I am looking for in the scenes," he said.

Finally, we asked him whether he's a very authoritative director or not. To that, Farooki had a very witty answer, "I have a strange answer for this. I'm a democratic dictator. I listen to everyone and stay democratic when what they have to say serves my purpose and goals. When and if they don't, I am more of a dictator."