Filmmaker Faraz Ansari is on cloud nine after their short film Sheer Qorma became the first-ever Indian short film to win Equality in Cinema award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). A day ahead of the award ceremony, Ansari opened up about the film’s nomination at IFFM and shared that it’s been an overwhelming journey for them.

“Oh my god, it’s been a very overwhelming journey. To be able to make the film and to be able to make it with the right people and the right cast and then take it to film festival – I am just humbled by the fact that people are aligning and embracing the film. They are embracing the film for what it really stands for because it truly does touch two of the most important things – love and acceptance. So it really feels beautiful,” explained Ansari.

When asked about how the film has been received, the filmmaker recounted the reactions Sheer Qorma received before its release and articulated why it puts their journey into a better perspective.

It was in May 2021 that Ansari’s friend brought to his attention that the IMDb rating of their film was at 2.8 out of 10. “But this is even prior to the film having its release. People had already gone on IMDb and given the lowest rating possible. They had left reviews for the film, even though they had not seen it. And most of the comments were from the right-wing trolls in India – they were going and abusing Swara Bhaskar, abusing Shabana Azmi ji and they were abusing me,” said Ansari, adding that people also had plans to boycott the film and started to trend hashtags like ‘BoycottSheerQormaonIMDb’.

The hate, however, was not limited to IMDb. Ansari added, “Of course, they were running a parallel campaign on Twitter, which went on for 2-3 months.”

The director articulated how a film that talks about love and acceptance received so much hate. “How can I get so much of hate, it really baffles me. But that is where we started,” explained Ansari.

Sheer Qorma, co-starring Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta and Swara Bhasker in lead roles, has already done the rounds of festival circuits and has won several awards. “It’s really amazing how back home we get so much hate, but internationally the film is being applauded and celebrated for what it really stands for, which is phenomenal,” they said.

Asked how the film’s cast members reacted to the hate coming its way, and Ansari recounted the sweetest gestures from the leading ladies. “They reacted the way they always do – they just give me a lot of love,” said Ansari, adding that they are used to it as they have been dealing with this for years. Ansari recalled that the leading ladies of their film sent them flowers, brownies, and said if they needed a hug, they should definitely come and meet.

The director, however, acknowledges that while there’s love on social media, there’s as much hate as well. “There is so much of that negativity across – it just really dampens your spirit,” Ansari said, adding that they are often trolled, sent death threats on social media.

Ansari also opened up about their shooting experience with cinema veteran Shabana Azmi and joked that everyone, in their right sense of mind, will be intimidated by her, given her legacy. At first, Ansari’s mom couldn’t believe that Azmi was acting in their film.

“My mom, she said, get lost – these words to me. And then when I went for my first reading with Shabana ji, I actually click a picture with her and showed it to my mom. When I showed the picture to my mom, she said this is photoshopped. She just refused to believe it,” recounted Ansari, adding that it wasn’t until she met her in person that she believed that it was happening for real. Ansari, too, was overwhelmed but the director credited Azmi for easing it all out.

“I don’t know if a lot of people know, but Shabana ji’s sense of humour is out of the world. She kept us laughing and there was so much of love that the sense of me working with Shabana Azmi on a set went out of the window. She used to call me Farzu and used to give me so much of love that through the process of filming, we had become a family. We were eating together, joking together singing songs together. We were reading all the troll messages together,” shared Ansari.

Next up, the director wants to helm projects that are inclusive. “We don’t need to make a crass film and crack a dirty joke at the cost of other people’s sexuality and identities to make something mainstream. Mainstream doesn’t have to be crass, mainstream doesn’t have to be dirty – mainstream is when people of all ages, regardless of sexuality, gender identity, faith, class and caste come together to watch something,” they said.