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I
was there in Kabul, Afghanistan
for 20 days and it was
an unbelievable experience,
which I will never be
able to forget. I shot
in the Kabul district,
lived with the local population
and wore traditional Afghani
dresses (a Poncho with
the Afghani skirt ankle
length). In line with
the traditions there,
I also had to keep my
head covered and wear
full sleeves.
 Being
a war-ridden country,
wherever we used to travel,
all we would see was tankers
and heavy artillery movement
on the streets. Soldiers
from armies across the
world used to patrol the
streets. Though we had
tight security covering
all our movements, 24
hours, it was a very eerie
feeling to be in a country
which was torn by war
for three decades.
Afghanistan is a beautiful
country and so are its
people. They are so hospitable
– especially to Indians.
I have had instances where
shopkeepers have refused
to take money from me
after they came to know
that I was an Indian!
Their gestures really
moved me. It was really
heartening to know that
they learned Hindi after
watching Bollywood movies.
I met a number of people
who have seen Khuda
Gawah close to 20
times! They even have
a hospital named after
Indira Gandhi. It is run
by the Indian Government
and I had to shoot there
as well.
Khushi was an
ambitious project on women
empowerment undertaken
by USAID in Afghanistan.
The story focuses on the
importance of giving voice
to the women of Afghanistan.
As all of us know, women
have very little or no
freedom there. The narrative
revolves around the difficult
journey that the protagonist
Khushi (played by me)
has to undergo in the
current socio-economic
and political set up of
Afghanistan to realise
her dream of becoming
a doctor. It also shows
how her determination
pays off when she starts
serving as a doctor and
in the process empowers
her fellow citizens, specially
the women of the area.
This surely was a one
of its kind experience
for me and I hence wanted
to share it with everybody.
(Saumya Tandon was recently
busy with an US project
on life in Afghanistan.
The film, called Khushi,
was shot in Afghanistan)
Disclaimer:
The views and the opinions
expressed therein are
those of the writer and
Tellychakkar may not necesarily
subscribe to them wholly
or partly.
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