LAFF | Making a Feature in Kashmir: “Zero Bridge” Director Tariq Tapa

What were some of the biggest challenges in making the film?

Kashmir is an occupied territory partitioned between India and Pakistan, basically still a war zone. This situation causes logistical nightmares simply because one has little control over one’s own destiny in a place where personal safety, civil rights, a fixed price economy, communications, and infrastructure are all deeply, maddeningly uncertain most of the time. A lot of time was spent waiting, planning, anticipating, dealing with endless setbacks such as strikes, violence, protests, curfews.

Casting was also very tough because I insisted on exclusively first-time, non-professional performers, people who didn’t have any aspirations to be on camera. This was generally met with a lot of resistance, sometimes hostility. People in Kashmir didn’t understand why I didn’t have any dance sequences, or why there was no propaganda. What kind of movie was I really trying to make? Most were suspicious. Or sometimes people would finally be cast, shoot for a day and then quit, out of fear or reprisal or because they decided I wasn’t paying them enough. I had casting calls and looked at many people for the lead before realizing my cousin Imran, my production assistant, was already perfect. I went to a construction site and shot a short doc of the crew at work. It was there that I met Ali Muhammed, one of the masons. He was interested in what I was doing and we became friends. I cast him before I knew which part he would play.  After casting Ali and Imran, I still had to cast Bani. I found her after posting notices at several girls technical colleges – there are no drama schools – in the city. I decided to cast Taniya, a computer science student, for the role after I had her practice several scenes with Imran. That was enough to start shooting. During the frequent interruptions, I often ran into people who I used to fill out the bit parts.

Are there any interesting anecdotes from the shoot?

On the day we shot the scene with the black market passport dealer, the part still had not been cast. For weeks I had been “reassured” by one of the other bit actors that he knew the perfect guy and I would meet him when the time was right.  I didn’t find out he was a gangster until I showed up with my camera and microphones.  So, I met this gentleman, very nice, offered tea, a lovely host. And he absolutely looked the part I had in mind, and I liked the way he carried himself and thought he would work out as an actor. When the subject of money came up, he was surprisingly blase about it. He seemed to understand my situation and just wanted to help. So I said “Great, let’s set up, here’s the scene…” and as I was talking he wasn’t really listening because he suddenly started changing his clothes; completely changing his appearance, making himself look, eventually, like a Kashmiri version of Stallone as Rambo, complete with black wife-beater and headband. I said ‘What is this?’ and he said ‘You wanted a tough guy? I’m looking tough for you.’ I explained that that was very thoughtful of him to think of his character but really he was already quite tough the way he was naturally. There was a pause and he looked at me, confused, so I explained: ‘It’s a more realistic kind of story, not Bollywood.’ Another pause. Then he grimaced and yanked off his headband, muttering, ‘Ugh, not another one of those ‘art’-movies.’ I convinced him to do it anyway, and I think he’s great in the movie.

What other genres or stories would you like to explore?

I love stories about boundaries and thresholds – metaphorical or concrete – of one form or another: emotional, moral, legal, geographic. So I’ve always been drawn to characters that credibly accommodate those themes. I’d like to have a two-pronged career; one in the States where I work in the commercial arena, and one where I have this cycle of tiny personal movies.

What other projects are you looking to do?

I have three projects in development to that end. I was commissioned by XYZ Films and Time Inc. Studios to write a mini-series about the origin, rise, and decline of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, from 1919 to 1972. I’ve spent the last 12 months doing the research and writing the comprehensive bible and plots for it. It’s been great: there’s an insane amount of material. People have a cartoonish idea of who this guy really was. The trick has been trying to forget that and just let the characters come to life. I’ve also been developing my next script to direct—a comedy with a large cast, set in the States. I can’t reveal more about it right now.  The third script sitting on my hard drive is the next Kashmir film I want to direct; sort of a Kashmiri version of Olmi’s ‘The Tree of Wooden Clogs’; but that will wait for little bit, not for the very next film.