Her name is khan

With the demolition of the Babri Masjid,my father was under tremendous pressure to sell his car as he was drawing attention for it. So he sold it over night and it broke his heart. And I knew it was not because of the car,but for

the India he had come back to. He felt betrayed,by himself and his own beliefs.

That incident introduced me to the word,complicated. It’s complicated that I don’t get a house in this country due to my surname but it’s simple that this country is my home. It’s complicated that my husband is a Hindu but it’s simple that we are married.

It’s complicated that we shoot people in fake encounters but it’s also simple that someone is investigating it. It’s complicated that we brand Muslims as terrorists but simple that we also make them presidents.

When I wanted to sell the rights to Qubool Hai,(Qubool Hai is a daily soap,which airs on Zee TV.) I took it to various broadcasters and was not having much luck getting a buyer.

I never screened the serial publically because I was apprehensive about people wanting to air the show. I sensed that a Muslim show would not be well received given the country’s climate of polarisation.

I always remembered what my father had told me. He had said that a car doesn’t matter,but what matters is your faith. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. The other thing he told me was to have belief. And thankfully Zee TV bought the rights to the serial. But then I was scared that nobody would watch it But Qubool Hai became the No 1 show on Zee TV.

Then I thought to myself how easily we give in to our thoughts and our doubts.

When Qubool Hai became successful I was not happy as a director or a producer. It actually meant something much greater to me,as a person and an Indian.

I was so happy to realise that a 3.4 rating meant almost the whole country was watching the serial.

Then it occurred to me that even though we might be polarised and there might be boundaries around us,but they have not reached our hearts yet. And that inside us,before anything else,we are Indians first.

And that’s why this Independence Day means little more to me than the other ones.You see it’s complicated but it’s also very simple.

So Happy Independence Day to all of us.

Jai Hind.