Screenwriter duo Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal, whose works include Bajirao Mastani, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Padmaavat, Kabir Singh, Animal, and others, are set to release their directorial debut, Dukaan. The film features Sikander Kher, Monali Thakur, Monika Panwar, Soham Majumder, and others. Siddharth and Garima came to Kolkata to promote their film. In a chat with OTTplay, the writer duo elaborated on why their film is important in the Indian context.

Dukaan captures the celebration of motherhood

Dukaan delves into the practice of commercial surrogacy in India. Elaborating on this, Garima said, “The first idea came to us in 2010 when we heard that commercial surrogacy is happening in places like Gujarat. We thought let it germinate for a while. Meanwhile, we wrote the screenplay and dialogue of (Goliyon Ki Raasleela) Ram-Leela. Back then, surrogacy was legal in India, and our country used to be the surrogacy capital of the world. We met a lot of couples – from Israel and the rest of the world. We met a lot of surrogate women. Those meetings stayed with us. And then the script was formed after a lot of research. Then we started to work on it around 2021-22.”

Siddharth added that they were amazed to see how these surrogate women celebrate motherhood in Gujarat. “These women do baby showers for their unborn child – the one that is not even theirs. In Gujarat, motherhood is celebrated in a big way,” he said. To this, Garima added, “In fact, their Garba celebration is also derived from Garva.”

Siddharth and Garima think celebrity surrogacy creates interest among people

When Siddharth and Garima started researching the film, commercial surrogacy was allowed in India. Later, it was banned and only altruistic surrogacy was legal in the city. Meanwhile, Dukaan delves into the practice of commercial surrogacy. Will the film still be relevant in the Indian context? “Dukaan encapsulates the entire surrogacy journey in India – how it started and how it went. In the film, you will also see the reference to the government banning surrogacy. They are still trying to amend the bill and hence the conversation is still on,” Siddharh said.

Garima added that the practice of surrogacy among celebrities gave birth to a lot of questions among people. “Given that there are celebrities who have surrogate children, I am sure there is a lot of curiosity around it. There has been no serious film to answer such surrogacies. There has been no serious conversation about commercial surrogacy. Many celebrities are single parents of a surrogate child. There is a lot of curiosity among people – where does this woman come from? Many of the celebrities are not married. But these children are theirs. A lot of questions are answered in this film,” she said.

Siddharth and Garima on Kolkata

It was a brief visit for Siddharth and Garima to Kolkata. “This is not the first time. We came here before. We love the way Kolkata preserves its heritage and vibe. This time, we did not have much time. We enjoyed fish and it never disappoints you,” said Garima with a smile.

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