THREE teenaged girls from Afghanistan have made a short film Kabul Cards, screened at the ongoing
14th Mumbai Film Festival in Maharashtra, which showcases the lighter side of the war-ravaged country.
Sahar (16), who attends high school, 19-year-old Sadaf, a music student and Nargis (19), who is studying law, have teamed up to show the other side of Afghanistan through the 17-minute film.
“We wanted to show the other side of Kabul, there are so many challenges, problems that are going on, but there is a civilian life also. We wanted to film those activities and people who are living there and are happy,” Nargis said.
The three girls have tried to show how people spend their free time and how they solve problems.
“We have tried to show what people do for fun in Kabul, how people spend their time. Like going to restaurants, malls, shopping, watching movies and meeting each other. It is not always explosion and firing,” Nargis said.
“We also wanted to show the problems like that of street kids. We have NGOs and volunteers who make them learn other skills and they give these children money for that. It is done so that they leave begging,” she said.
“Another problem is harassment of women on streets. We have an organisation that helps in this matter,” she added.
The trio did not face any problems while shooting.
“We explained to people what we were shooting and why. They were quite helpful and happy to speak about the other side of Afghanistan. We did not face any problem or difficulty while making the film,” she said.
The trio intends to convert Kabul Cards into a 45- minute documentary by combining various short films.
“After we are done with Kabul Cards, we want to make a film on women driving on the streets of Kabul. Not many women get to drive there. I would love to do a story on them—the challenges they face while driving,” Nargis said.
Nargis, who follows Bollywood films, says she likes Aamir Khan and has seen his films Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par and '3 Idiots among others.
