Filmmaker Arunjit Borah’s short film Zibah is based on the sensitive issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Produced by Sanjay Singh, Vivek Agarwal, Swati Agarwal and Pawan Singh, it stars Helly Shah, Barkha Sengupta, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Riju Bajaj, Shivani Sopuri and Achal Tankwal.

Sharing about the subject of the film, Riju Bajaj told us, “It is a story of this young girl, who is very ambitious, aspirational and wants to conquer the world and make a career. She is a modern girl from Mumbai who wants to be like any other girl. Her marriage gets fixed. So, her family is worried whether she would be accepted by her in-laws. The reason is that her khatna hasn’t been done because her mother didn’t want that to happen. The father wasn’t happy with it. So, he said that although you have not done it, at some point you will have to do it because of the norm. The pressure mounts and the local clerics convince that it had to be done.”

He continued, “The issue of Female Genital Mutilation kicks in very strongly in the film. It is discussed and the repercussions of it are shown. Generally, this is done when the girl is a baby. At that stage, it’s easier to do. But after the girl has grown and turns above 15, it becomes very difficult and life threatening also. A lot of parents get into the pressure and put the child under the knife for this thing. A film on this subject is very relevant and new. When the script came to us, we were not aware that such a thing happens. So, it kind of enlightened us.”

After reading the script, Riju Bajaj immediately said yes while his father and veteran artiste Ram Gopal Bajaj found it beautiful. The latter was starring in a television show with Helly Shah. That’s how he asked her about acting in Zibah. “Being a television star, he was unsure whether she would do this subject,” said Riju Bajaj. “But Helly immediately said yes without blinking an eye. She is a TV star. So, for her to say yes for this kind of a subject was a great step.”

Zibah will be released on YouTube on August 21.

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