‘I strive to empower my women protagonists’

Anahita’s Law is a 21-minute English film, in which a single actor portrays the ancient Persian Avestan Goddess of the Waters and Parsi Zoroastrian characters from the past and present. Oorvazi Irani, who plays the characters and has also directed and produced it, says that the film tells the stories of three Parsi women, who lived through, suffered and overcame the prejudices of biased tradition.

We chat with Irani before Anahita’s Law premieres on Friday, May 31 at National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. It will also be released on Humaramovie, a YouTube channel on June 3. 

Is the film a continuation of your search as both a Parsi and as a woman? Your last film was The Path of Zarathustra.
As an artist seeking ‘who am I’ is at the core of my discovery and thus identity plays a very important role. I believe belonging to the Parsi community and the ancient faith of Zoroastrianism gives me something unique and special to explore in my work and collaborating with my writer Farrukh Dhondy with the two films has been an enriching experience. 

My last feature film The Path of Zarathustra was a PVR Director’s Rare theatrical release and centred around the question ‘Does every search for God end in love?’. It was a love story in the genre of magic realism that raised some fundamental questions about religion. My current film continues the exploration of my Parsi identity but this time, the woman takes centrestage. 

For me, being a woman filmmaker does make me critical of the representation of the female gender in films and I strive to empower my women protagonists. Anahita’s Law is an attempt to redefine a woman’s identity in the 21st century at this poignant moment in history and question certain fundamental beliefs and perceptions that exist in our patriarchal society in India.

Can you tell us about the mythological deity Anahita?
Anahita is the ancient Persian Goddess, the mythological deity of water, fertility, healing and wisdom. She represents for me the feminine force in Zoroastrianism which I wanted to bring to the forefront. In the 4th century BC, she was a revered figure and she was worshipped in temples which were dedicated to Goddess Anahita and I wanted to wake up the spirit of this divine entity who represents today for me, the awakening of every woman and the voice that will not be silenced.

Has her identity been subverted down the ages like it was for Sita and Draupadi and others in India?
Yes at one level, I feel the feminine voice was overpowered by a patriarchal framework in our religion. But it’s a question that is more complex as it can be argued that our supreme God Ahura Mazda has no gender, even though it sounds masculine to the common person.

Why did you choose Uniform Civil Code around which the story of Anahita’s Law revolves?
The Uniform Civil Code for me was a contemporary vehicle which opens up the debate for gender equality and the gender bias in religion all over the world. It is symbolic of change that a 21st century woman should fight for, where law respects her equally as a citizen of India. 

Was the choosing of the three aspects — divine, human and abstract — deliberate? In India, we choose to deify a woman or ignore her. The human angle is usually lost in the popular narrative.
The film not only attempts to give space to different dimensions of women characters but also engages the audience in an active participation of creating their own identity of the females in the film. The three aspects of divine, human and abstract help the viewer travel into different time zones and perspectives of the larger story of women. Also as a film experience, I wanted you as a viewer to be moved by very real stories and at the same time reflect on ideas that transcend the immediate reality. 

The feminist perspective for women to be represented on screen as real individuals and not slotted as gods or vamps or ignored is a real concern that I addressed in the film. 

How do you see the evolution of women’s rights and identities? Will it always be limited to a handful of women who have rebelled or taken the quiet way to assert themselves?
Women’s rights have evolved and at the same time we do remain suppressed by forces that govern us. We live in a patriarchal society where so many things are just accepted because they have been going on for centuries like the woman takes the surname of her husband and many women are even made to change their first names. It is these simple small things that shape the way we are perceived in society and I feel each woman needs to examine these closely and strive to be treated as equal. Feminism, for me, is not about how great women are and men being inferior. It’s about not being discriminated as women for our gender, having equal rights and being treated as an individual. Is that too much to ask for in the 21st century?