Directed by Ajay Bahl, the film revolves around the Section 375 of Indian Penal Code laws and explores the issue of sexual harassment.
Actor Akshaye Khanna, who was all geared up for the premiere launch of his film ‘Section 375’, told pravasi Express that, more than educating the audience, the film will start a debate and conversation among the audience.
The actor was interacting with the media before the premiere launch of ‘Section 375’ along with co-actors Richa Chadha, Rahul Bhatt, Meera Chopra, director Ajay Bahl and producer Kumar Mangat Pathak on Saturday at Fullerton, Singapore
The film cast and crew also mentioned to our reporter that they had great satisfaction and honour to have been selected to be the closing film of a prestigious film festival like Sg.SAIFF.
‘Section 375’ is based on Section 375 of Indian Penal Code laws in India. In the film, Richa plays a public prosecutor fighting to get justice for her client, who claims she has been raped by a filmmaker (Rahul Bhatt), being defended by Akshaye in the court. Akshaye accuses the victim of misusing ‘Section 375’ to falsely implicate his client. The film also explores the theme of whether a lawyer should defend a criminal or listen to his conscience.
The producer of the film said, “The story of ‘Section 375’ is very relevant., no matter which year you are living in, it concerns what is happening all around. I feel this film gives a holistic view of a particular case, whether you are a part of defense or prosecution, whether you are the judge or a normal person viewing it on television and reading about it in newspapers. So, all these angles have been taken into consideration while writing (the film),”
Richa plays a public prosecutor fighting to get justice for her client who claims she has been raped by a movie director (Rahul Bhatt), who is being defended by Akshaye in court. Akshaye accuses the victim of misusing Section 375 to falsely implicate his client. The film also explores the theme of whether a lawyer should defend a criminal or listen to his conscience. “We are in the business of law, not in the business of justice,” Akshaye’s character says at one point.
Talking about her role in the film, Richa had told Pravasi Express earlier, “We did a massive portion of courtroom sequences which needed me to stay focused, as it needed for me to be in the element and be in the character which was high on emotions. Shooting for courtroom scenes needs a lot of channeling of emotions and thus, my life was all about going to the sets and back home. I haven’t met anyone or been part of any social gatherings, also limited phone conversations with my close friends as I wanted to maintain a low profile for this period.”
Actress Meera Chopra told us that she took few days to recover and get back to her normal life after acting in this movie especially because she plays the rape victicm role in this movie.
The film was very engaging and had great audience response as there was no extra frills or dramatic edits added. The film also didnt had any regular bollywood song sequences. The director succeded in converying a clear message to his audience and they could also stick to his narrative genre storyline from the begining till end.
Festival co-chairman Piiyush Singh said the idea behind the Sg.SAIFF is to have quality films that trigger conversations around societal issues and cinema. Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (Sg.Saiff) held from August 30 to September 7 in Singapore showcased a combination of feature films, short films and documentaries under two sections – Competition (wherein titles from South Asia competed for an award) and Non-Competition (Showcase) (wherein the best of South East Asian cinema was screened).
