Pakistani filmmaker Asim Abbasi talks to Sakshi Sharma about how his leading women have given a positive spin to the term ‘churail’ in his eponymous web series and the need to share stories about the under-represented

The term ‘Churail’ has been used to refer to witches or to a woman who practises dark magic. You might have heard women being called as churail, dayan, bhootni, spellcaster and other such names for their “wrong” actions. But how often have you heard them being used to question the patriarchal status quo and represent strong-willed women?

Pakistani filmmaker Asim Abbasi, who is now foraying into the web series space with his series, Churails, believes that the term rightly represents his lead protagonists as it has nothing to do with dark magic. Says he, “The term has historically been used to label women negatively for their courage, aggression, ambition — all the qualities that I associate with a strong woman, were deemed negative. She is the uncanny outsider who comes to shake up the patriarchy. And it is the fear that she elicits in the guardians of the status quo (often men), that drives men to label them in a derogatory way. So our characters are taking this term, ripe with symbolic value, to give it a positive spin. Every woman, according to me, should aspire to be a churail.”

Set in Karachi, it is a story of four women from different walks of life who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. These self-proclaimed women run their operations under the guise of a fashion store named ‘Halal Designs’ that specialise in conservative women’s attire. As their operations expand, they come to be the saviours of abused, mistreated and harassed women, and their search for a missing girl brings them face to face with the exploitative world of talent agencies, escort services, and cosmetic companies. It features Pakistani actors Sarwat Gilani, Nimra Bucha, Yasra Rizvi and Mehar Bano. Excerpts:

The series stars four women reeling from personal miseries who further open a detective agency under the pretext of a burqa shop. How did you conceptualise it?

The themes of gender politics, particularly power dynamics, between a man and a woman, and the resultant misogyny are topics that I wanted to address in my writing for a while. But I did not want the starting point of the series to be heavy-handed. I wanted the darkness to slowly creep in. So my natural, perhaps humorous inclination, was to first make my characters colourful spies, who gradually turn vigilantes. I was interested in talking about the lack of autonomy that a woman has over her body. Often in patriarchal societies, women are dressed and undressed at the whims of the society, and are being told what is appropriate and what is not. Hence, the store specialises in modest-wear for women to showcase this irony.

The poster of the project has a caption: ‘Hojayein tayaar, khwateen aur hazraat. Especially hazraat. Jald arahi hain kuch rangeen churailein, aapki deep-rooted misogyny ki band bajaanay.’ Another scene showed a sign at a store: ‘Pets and men not allowed.’ How do such strong statements establish the idea of the series?

The store titled ‘Halal Designs’ is a safe space that women have created for other women. The clients need to feel protected, hence, the idea of it not being open to men. The sign for the store is a replay of boards saying ‘women and dogs not allowed’ that actually existed in prestigious members clubs in the subcontinent before the Partition, under the British Raj.

Your narratives have usually centred around strong female characters. Are there any personal instances that have shaped your choices?

I have grown up in a household of a lot of women and have been surrounded by them all my life. So I tend to gravitate towards their experiences. As a filmmaker, it is my duty to tell stories about those who are under-represented or the ones I believe are not represented fairly in the mainstream media. Female-centric stories on Pakistani television usually regurgitate the same trope about a damsel in distress who needs rescuing by a prince. Those stories are not a representative of the women I know. And those are not the stories I believe our daughters should grow up with.

In one of your interviews you mentioned, “It’s not message per se, I prefer to raise questions.” What do you aim to achieve through your work?

Well, apart from entertaining audience by providing a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat experience, I hope that the show stays with them long after the 10 hours of viewing experience is over. They should be able to reflect on the questions the series raises. I wish them, particularly men, to become more open to working towards a more equitable society, where women are respected and treated fairly.

There has been a surge of grey roles in online content now. Filmmakers and actors don’t like putting characters in a box. Do you think the same can be said about your four leads?

Absolutely. I deliberately set out to tell a tale of four very flawed individuals. They are not always going to do the right thing. They are going to make mistakes and may not even apologise for them but these traits are all very human to have. All good content, which seeks to create empathetic characters that the audience can root for, should be moving away from the binaries of black and white.

You had earlier said, “It’s very difficult to put Churails into a genre. It’s discussing serious issues, but the show itself doesn’t take itself too seriously.” What did you mean?

In terms of genres, I would say the series has elements of drama and thriller but I tend to find the whimsy in the darkest of moments, and I feel my work reflects that. The themes that the series addresses are posed as questions rather than preachy messages. My characters find something to smile about even when everything around them is falling apart.

On the artistic front, are we ready to nurture cross-boundary collaborations, irrespective of the political environment?

Yes, because art has nothing to do with institutional politics. Its sole purpose is to provide a cathartic experience for the public by emphasising our shared humanity and it aims to do that by bridging the differences.

Do you think the audience for the series might get affected from the Pak- India rivalries?

I don’t think so. People on both sides of the border are well aware that they have similar life realities and are eager to have a dialogue and cultural exchange.

Can we call this an opportunity for the country to attract other global platforms and entertain the idea of producing Pakistani content?

Absolutely. We have not had web content come out of Pakistan that could compete in the global market before. This is a small but important step in getting our stories out to the world. I am hopeful that it will attract more investment into Pakistani talent and filmmakers.

(The series will stream from August 11 on Zee5.)