Shazia Iqbal’s Bebaak: The constricting embrace of faith

Shoma A. Chatterji

Bebaak means “defiance”. This spells out the subject of short feature film Bebaak directed by Shazia Iqbal. The 20-minute-long film won Shazia the Best Debut Director, International and Audience Choice award at the 30th Sao Paulo International Shorts Film Festival. It is the story of Fatin, an ambitious student of architecture from a lower middle-class Muslim family, who needs a scholarship to pursue her studies. It is a simple story narrated in a straightforward way.

“The film is inspired by a true event that moulded my religious, social and political ideology while growing up. After 13 years of having worked as a production designer in the Indian film and advertising industry after my graduation in architecture, I left a sheltered office job as I wanted to tell stories,” says Shazia.

Unable to rely on her cash-strapped family to further her higher education, Fatin seeks out to get scholarship from a conservative Muslim trust. During the course of the interview, she gets reprimanded by the interviewing officer for not following the religious tenets meant for women. The office of the trust is on the upper floor of an old building.

On the lower floor is a tomb where two girls, studying in a nearby madrassa, can be heard having a conversation. One of them, Rafiya, believes that the rules dictated by their faith are good for girls and it is mandatory to follow these. The emphasis here is on wearing the burqa. The other girl Shireen, however, finds these rules constricting and seeks freedom from them.

On hearing their conversation, Fatin makes up her mind about which line should she take. Fatin is an educated girl. She does not much like the restrictions imposed by her religion but she is sometimes forced to observe these. When her name is called by the very conservative man in the Trust office, she refuses to respond and walks down the stairs. She finds Shireen there. The film ends on a silent but strong note with Shireen finding Fatin’s burqa lying discarded atop the platform of the tomb.

The film has won more than a dozen awards, including the Audience’s Choice Award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Bebaak also won the Best Short Film Award for Short Fiction at Mumbai International Festival of Short, Documentary and Animation Films, 2020. The citation states, “This debut film offers an authentically designed sequence of events to manifest the reality of a young Muslim girl’s striking reaction to religious constraints. Her upholding of freedom is enacted through a convincing performance by an ensemble cast.”

The film also won the Best Cinematography Award for “fluent imagery with effectively designed emotive visuals express the poignant mood of the theme of empowerment with stark realistic tone.”

The film won the award for Best Short Fiction at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, 2019.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui impresses with his short role of the man in charge of releasing scholarships at the Trust office but it is Sarah Hashmi, who steals the show with her brilliant performance as Fatin. She received the Best Actress Award at the 21st Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Tokyo last year.

The poverty-stricken ambience of the home surroundings is brought out lucidly through the production design and choice of locale. Shazia, who studied filmmaking at MET film school, Ealing studios, London, is the lead production designer for Emmy-nominated Sacred Games and Lust Stories.