Purdah (2016) - full transcript

We're coming up on two years.

In April?

- Did you join in April?
- Then what?

She's the better batsman
but gets out stupidly.

Tell me your highest score!

Anybody can get
the highest score.

Who made the team win?!

You!

- So then?
- Fine, never mind.

A real batsman is one who plays
till the end, understand?

If I hit a six,
she gets jealous.



No way! Six?

My name is Kaikasha Mirza,

and I'm 20 years old.

I'm a right-handed batsman.

I enjoyed playing cricket.

I wanted to play
but didn't know that girls play.

Because I had never seen
girls play on TV.

Shall we?
Our time's up. Let's go.

In India, women's cricket
is not extensively played.

Girls are not really encouraged
to go and play cricket.

They would allow
their sons to go and play,

but they do not allow
their daughters to go and play.

Parents are scared
about the girl getting injured

by the hard seasoned ball.



If she plays in the sun
and she gets a tan,

if her skin color becomes dark,
who's going to marry her?

Women cricketers are
not professionals.

They can't be,
even if they want to.

There's hardly any money.

Every parent feels,
"My son is going to be Sachin."

Spending 2000 rupees
($30) a month for a daughter,

they'll think twice.

What will she do
when she grows up?

Certainly not a cricketer!

Parents say, "You might as well
do your studies"

and do your graduation
and take up jobs."

And that's why they are
dropouts from cricket.

And later on,
it's marriage or whatever.

My brother learned cricket here.

Out of curiosity,
I went to watch one day.

I had just been playing at home.

I decided to go see
how they played.

I teased my brother that
I could hit better than him.

The coach said,
"Why don't you show us?"

So I played there once.

Coach asked Mummy, "Is your
daughter interested in cricket?"

Mummy said, "Yes,
she keeps playing at home."

Then coach said that
there's a league for girls too.

Mummy told Daddy about it.

But Daddy said...

"What would our family
and relatives say?"

They say girls shouldn't play
because we wear burkas.

Muslims are not allowed.

I think I'm the first Muslim
playing here.

If I tell someone I'm Muslim
and play, they really like it.

They think it's cool, because
we're not really allowed to.

Non-Muslim girls can play
without a problem.

My uncles yell at me, "How long
will you play cricket?"

"What are you gaining
by playing?"

I get irritated with them...

but not with others
who don't understand.

My uncles know
I want to do this,

so it angers me
when they make fun.

This year,
there's more opposition

to girls without purdahs
and hijabs.

But we must know our limits
and be modest.

I'm not trying to change
the Islamic system.

If I go against it, then
people will be against me.

They'll lose for sure,

but the question is
in how many overs.

Why worry when there's Zaheer?

Zaheer will be caught out
in the very first ball.

- But he's a bowler.
- He'll take wickets.

Of course he'll take wickets.

Look!

He took Yuvraj's wicket.

Daddy will drink tea.

They've been calling me!

They must need your help.

Everybody likes you.

You're the youngest
and everybody's favorite.

Look how happy he got!

Right?

What was he doing?

He was hitting an uppercut.

When the boys played as kids,
she would join them.

I used to think, "Great. Now
something's going to break."

They've broken windows.

These kids have broken
so many things!

Mummy says, "You should've
been born a boy."

"How were you born a girl?"

More than anyone, we parents
are interested in cricket.

We used to watch, so the kids
also started watching.

So the kids also got interested.

When I used to take my sons
to cricket practice,

I used to also take
Kaikasha along.

The coach and I
saw her interest.

And she started playing there.

The coach said
that she has talent.

And I should sign her up
for women's cricket.

Then I said, her daddy
won't allow it.

At first he refused.

Being a Muslim girl,

wearing shirts and pants
and playing cricket!

So he said no.

The purdah is
for the woman's dignity.

Wearing a burka is
a very nice thing

in the Muslim community.

And it should be worn.

If the husband asks
his wife to wear a veil,

then she may listen
to the husband.

The burka is very special to us.

We have to listen to Daddy
and do as he says.

Initially, I didn't want
to wear a burka.

Eventually, I started liking it.

Daddy would say to wear it.

Daddy made us wear burkas
very young.

Around the age of 13.

I wanted to be a model.

To be Miss World.

Used to.

Then I wanted to be
an air hostess.

I even interviewed for it.

But when I went,
I wore a niqab (veil).

They told me,
"Niqab is not allowed."

So I said,
"I'll take it off and come."

But they said,
"If you want the job,

you have to take it off
at home."

"You can't wear it to work."

So I said,
"Fine, I won't do this."

"I can't remove the niqab."
So I didn't take the job.

Daddy didn't allow me to model.

It just remained a dream.

But it was an impossible dream.

Because Daddy
doesn't allow these things.

Daddy has an archaic mindset.

Mummy says
if Daddy weren't here...

I pray nothing happens to him...

but she says,
"If he weren't here,

I would let you wear
whatever you want."

My daddy never made me
wear a burka.

So, I never wore it.

But we carried ourselves
based on our religion.

I allowed Saba to model
for one or two ads.

She modeled
for a political party

and for a hair product.

But I said no more than those.

She also got offers
for TV shows,

but I didn't allow that.

Honorable Muslim girls don't
get into the film industry.

I think about her dream...

Well, I want her
to become a doctor.

She says she wants to be
a religious scholar sometimes,

but she keeps changing her mind.

I've told her to decide on
one thing that you want to do.

If you become
a religious scholar,

that's a good thing.

Now I'm worried
about her marriage.

Her marriage is on hold
because of financial reasons.

I've told her,
"While you're here,

do what you want."

"Later you'll be married. Then?"

"Who knows if
your husband will let you?"

Look.

Photo? I bet it's a selfie.

It's not a photo. It's a...
Wait, I'll tell you.

I'm walking with a bride.

- Oh really?
- Yes.

- Don't you know?
- Be quiet!

Ah?

I tried to finish 12th grade,

but I quit
because it cost a lot.

I have four brothers and sisters
and only Daddy earns.

We want to work, but Daddy
says girls are not allowed.

It's not allowed in our family
because we are from Lucknow.

And Lucknow noblemen certainly
don't let their daughters work.

I do all the cooking every day.

My elder sister
does the laundry.

When Kaikasha has a day off,
she cleans the entire house.

She wants to be a designer.

She'll become a designer, do
something and then get married.

Everybody has dreams.

Or will she make rotis
her entire life?

When Daddy brought up
marriage...

he said that since Kaikasha
and Saba are busy,

let's just get Heena married.

So I started crying.

I said,
"You're letting everybody

pursue their interests but me."

So he said,
"Okay, what do you want to do?"

I said, "First I want
to finish studies",

and then pursue
fashion design or singing."

Then he said, "Okay, fine."

The fashion design course that
Heena wants to do is expensive.

The singing course
is also expensive.

And so her matters are stalled.

They are so expensive
that it is difficult

to bear them single-handedly.

If money is spent
only towards her,

there wouldn't be enough
for the family.

And that's a fact.

I don't know myself
what I will be in the future.

Sometimes I get emotional
when I remember this.

This was in 1999.

Kaikasha had said to me...

I was going abroad.

And Kaikasha said, "Papa..."

"Everyone's fathers
stay with them."

"Why won't you stay
with us too?"

"I don't like it
when you leave."

Whenever I remember this,
I get emotional.

And I feel very weak.

It seems like a small thing,
but it isn't.

That a daughter
is telling her father,

"Everyone's fathers
stay with them."

I'm strong-minded
but very weak at heart.

One should not kill
children's dreams.

Like Kaikasha
is interested in cricket.

She's extremely passionate.

And it seems her luck
is also great.

Whatever she chooses,
she will do well.

When he returned from abroad,
I explained things to him.

He then asked
his mother for advice.

She said,
"Son, if you don't send her...

"and if she wants to go...

then you can't go there
and check on her."

"So it's better you give her
permission."

"And then check on her."

"Because a father has the right
to know where his child is."

So I inquired about her.

She goes straight to practice
and comes straight back.

And what makes me
most happy about her is...

if she is unable to do
something,

she relentlessly pursues it

to find out why
she is unable to do it.

This is her best quality
and it warms my heart.

As a father, I hope that
she plays for the nation.

And is successful.

For one or two months,
I wore a burka to play cricket.

The women on the trains
are judgmental.

They always imagine the worst.

I got on the train once,

and this woman said, "She
puts on her burka on the train."

"Wonder what she's up to."

So I went and told Daddy.
He said,

"Don't wear the burka
to cricket from now on."

To live in this society,
we must move with it.

If we live in
an unfavorable manner,

society will be unfavorable
toward us.

If you wear the burka
on the train...

and take it off
at the station...

such women are frowned upon.

It's better you leave home
without a burka.

Let the entire society see
where you're going.

The thing is Daddy fears
for us a lot.

Where she goes, people are
mostly of other religions.

Daddy would fear, "You're alone,
wearing a burka..."

where there aren't
other Muslim girls."

For all cricket-related things,
she doesn't wear a niqab at all.

"Wear it when you're going out
around here, otherwise don't."

All my neighbors
know I play cricket.

They say, "It's good
a girl is getting ahead."

They say that to me,
but who knows

what they say behind my back.

People ask, "Don't your parents"

say anything about Kaikasha
playing cricket?"

I tell them, "Mummy and Daddy
signed her up themselves."

Then they ask,
"Does she go without a burka?"

So I say,
"Yes, without a burka."

They ask other things too
but I tell them,

"I can't say any more,
it's a secret."

- Buy me a chocolate, won't you?
- I'm fasting.

So you buy one for me!

In one month, we have
selections for the Mumbai team.

There's a lot of competition
in the Seniors category.

I have to work really hard
to be selected.

I hope to play for Mumbai
and then onwards.

Selectors will pick around
25-30 girls in each group.

Like Under 16,
Under 19 and Seniors.

Senior cricket is
a totally different level.

Totally different.
It's professional level.

So there, it's the survival
of the fittest.

When I first joined,
the coach said

there was a good chance
I could make it.

But it takes time to learn.

More and more girls joined and
now the competition is tougher.

I practice seven days a week.

I don't have a single day off
in a month.

I have to work hard and face
each ball as it comes.

I don't think there's
any luck involved.

What luck?

We three sisters
sleep in this room.

I sleep here.

My elder sister sleeps here.

My younger sister sleeps here.

This is my stuff.

It's got everything -
cricket balls, etc.

This has my jewelry.

We broke that glass.

Broke it while playing cricket.

This one.
There's no glass there.

They took this
at the Chowpatty beach.

Heena, Saba and Mummy.

It's very recent.

My elder sister,
naughty me, my younger sister,

and my younger brother.

And this, my cricket photo.

Daddy made me get this for
a potential arranged marriage.

But I didn't give them
the photo.

We've already talked
about marriage.

She's asked for two years.

If she makes it in cricket,
then fine. Otherwise...

After two years,
we'll get her married.

We'll look for a nice man.

Like a marriage bureau,
there are ladies who do this-

We don't want to do that.

No, we don't want to do that
but I'm just explaining...

that there are
marriage bureaus...

There are also women who-

She doesn't know how this works.

We don't marry like this.

We will find a groom
through relatives and family.

Now she's the mother,
she thinks differently.

I'm the father,
I think differently.

My way of looking
for her groom is...

If we're really looking
for a guy, it's not about

his looks, education,
upbringing or career.

Ask about him in his community.

If he's good, then he's good...

outside his inner circle
as well.

In his neighborhood as well.

If he's bad, he gets cigarettes
on credit from here...

buying paan and tobacco
on credit from there.

Doesn't pay anywhere.

Then this means he doesn't work.

We want a guy who is
self-respecting.

One who is honorable.

One who has a good
reputation in society.

That's the kind of guy we want.

Someone who can live well
with what they have.

If we find a nice guy
like he said...

we'll tell him in advance
that she plays.

If he's okay with it, then fine.
Otherwise, she'll have to quit.

Yes, I'm angry. Not shy.

If I have to marry in two years,
why did I even play?

I shouldn't have played at all.

I'm going to play,
whether they let me or not.

You have to look good too,
don't you?

You can't just play cricket.
You have to be fashionable too.

People don't believe I play
cricket because I'm so fancy.

My job is to work hard.

Whether I'm selected or not
is in God's hands, not mine.

I've told Akshaya, "If you get
selected, you'll forget me."

She said, "Time will tell,"
and I said, "Let's see!"

We'll remember each other.
After all, I started with them.

We won't forget each other.

Move quicker, sir!

Sorry, I don't know Marathi.

I don't know Marathi either!

I want it in blue and don't want
it to say "sweet" and "heart."

My butt would read "sweetheart."

It's nice, right?

The butt reads "sweetheart"!

So what?
Oh right, don't get this.

This is good for you.

- This?
- Yeah, it's cool.

It's simple,
without fancy designs.

This looks good.

Give me two. I'll buy them
for 100 rupees ($1.50).

Two for 200 ($3)!

Pay me 250 ($3.75).

I swear... if I had...
take a look.

- Ma'am, there's a cost.
- But I don't have that much!

Do you think we're rich
just because of the filming?

Aren't you?

Of course not!

We bought so much from you,
you're rich.

Let's go.

Look at the one behind you.

Pick any.
They're 250 each ($3.75).

You want something like this?

- Kaikasha, I like this.
- This?

You'll have to show it to me.

This one looks good too.

Tell me which color.

Pathan's out! Pathan's out!

- Yusuf Pathan's out?
- How much did Tendulkar score?

Thank you!

Gave the poor guy a boundary
while trying to get him out.

Do you know the price
of tickets to the finals?

50,000 ($750) and one lakh
($1500) if India plays.

For the same ticket,
same spot and same seat!

Look! He looks like he has
to go to the toilet.

I always wonder
what the match umpires do...

when they have to go
to the toilet!

Yeah! They stand
for an entire day!

I called it!
They won't even score 300.

He took five wickets!

Everybody travels
long distances to practice.

My house is the farthest.

I leave at 2:00
and get there by 3:45.

And then take
the 7:45 train home.

Kaikasha, when are
your selections?

They haven't told us yet.

- When are your selections?
- At 7:00.

- Where?
- At the Marine Lines Gymkhana.

Hey! Wait up!

We're already prepared.

We've worked hard all year.

If I'm not selected,

then I'll try, try
until I have success.

She'll get married.

I'll marry you.

Let's go!

Listen! Now nobody's around.

I was saying...

Daddy said,
"You're working so hard...

the outcome is not
in your hands."

"Your hard work is
what matters."

It's her birthday.

I didn't say anything.
They found out themselves.

Don't lie.

- Did I say anything?
- They knew it.

She just went out
with her boyfriend.

Hello?

Her boyfriend is throwing
a party on her birthday.

There's no boyfriend.
She's just crazy.

I can throw my own party.

I don't need someone else
for that.

She's asking for a party.
Wait, I'll give you one.

Whoever this boyfriend of mine
is, go ask him for a party.

Am I right?

She's taking us
to the Taj Hotel, for real.

She plans on mopping
the floors there.

- Fanta, Fanta, Fanta!
- Cheers!

Kaikasha,
on your 23rd birthday...

23rd?!! It's 21, one.

In two years, you'll play
internationally right?

Yeah!

You're getting the
Man of the Series Award.

How does it feel?

- Feels very good.
- What's the feeling?!

- What's the feeling like?
- The feeling's great.

Say it like Zaheer Khan,
not like Yusuf Pathan.

Sometimes it makes me sad

that it takes so long
to improve.

I've been practicing
here for a year.

I'm older
than all the girls here.

At this age it's harder.

Nowadays, they've reduced
the age to play.

You can only play on the team
up to a certain age.

As you age,
your chances get lower!

My biggest worry is
that I need to learn fast.

Nothing else.

Over the last couple of days,

the coach says my batting
has improved.

I'm a batsman, not a bowler.

My batting has improved.

I pray every day
that I get better.

That's why we are
so eager at practice.

To work hard, to succeed and
do something for our parents.

Getting selected to play
for Mumbai would be

an indescribable feeling
for a player.

If I don't make the team,

Daddy will start talking
about arranging my marriage.

If I get married, I may not get
to play cricket at all.

Our girl plays well.

She plays with heart.

God willing,
she will be successful one day.

Let at least one girl
from our family,

at least one Muslim girl
among us get ahead.

So we all support her
and by God's grace,

her hard work should pay off.

I hope she succeeds.

That she becomes something,
just like Daddy wishes,

"My daughter should
become something."

I hope she proves herself.

Let's see what her fate holds.

Whether she's able
to make it or not.

A lot of the cricketers here
are more experienced than me.

We've been playing
since childhood.

We've been practicing here
regularly for many years.

I played for Seniors last year.

I played Under 19 last year.

Under 19.

Not yet.

All I can do is hope.

This is the Senior Team
Selection for MCA.

All the batsmen, come aside.

Pure batsmen.

And the pure bowlers.

I'll pick the all-rounders
later.

Pad up, you three girls.

I don't feel bad about
not making the team.

It's up to us
and how we perform.

A big factor is that
I started playing cricket

very late in life.

Had I started earlier,
I would have made it,

by God's grace.

I last spoke to Akshaya
on the MCA Tour,

but it was a hi-bye
kind of meeting.

She was selected on
the Under 19 Team in 2013.

We don't talk on
the phone nor message.

Not even WhatsApp or Facebook.

When I first joined,
only she was with me.

No matter what,
no matter how she is,

she's my friend.

In the last three years,
my life has changed a lot.

In 2011, Dad and Mom
had a fight and he left.

We were asleep, and he left...

without his phone
and bank cards.

So we thought he was nearby.

Then night came,
and the next day,

and we had no idea where he was.

He didn't tell anyone
where he had moved.

He only called
from public phones.

He sometimes said he was in
Delhi, and sometimes elsewhere.

My dad used to hit Mom
with whatever he could find.

I used to intervene
and tell him it wasn't right.

Because if there are tensions
at home again and again...

I don't feel good about it.

I want everybody
to live happily.

When they fought,
they would both ask,

"Who do you want to live with?"

Who would we pick?

We want to live
with both of them.

Once, Dad hit me
with a big spoon.

I was very sick at the time.

So Mom felt very bad
and asked Dad to go

to his mother's house
and cool off.

He hasn't returned since.

Now everybody stays quiet
at home.

Now everybody understands
what life means.

It feels strange
since Daddy has left.

Mummy's with us and that's
all that matters to me.

When Daddy left,
we faced a lot of problems.

We didn't have
a single cent to spend.

Dad left us a lot of problems.

Strangers kept
knocking at our door.

We called Dad and asked him
to pay people he owed

but he didn't respond.

Then he stopped calling.

We used to live
on Mira Road in a nice house.

The rents were
very high there...

and we didn't have
the ability to pay.

We were evicted by the landlord.

So we moved to Nallasopara
where the rents are low.

I had to drop out of 8th grade

because we couldn't pay my fees.

So I started working temporarily
at a bag shop in Borivali.

I made 300 rupees ($5) a day,
which I thought was good.

My sister and I were
the eldest at home

and had to take care
of everything.

My brothers and other sister
were very young.

So both of us looked for jobs.

Saba worked at a clinic
and I worked at a call center.

I used to wear a niqab
and stay home.

I never even stepped out.

I never imagined
that I would work.

All of my dad's
responsibilities are now mine.

I worked at a dental clinic for
a salary of 4000 rupees ($65).

I took an advance from them
and handled things.

Kaikasha also started working.
Then slowly we recovered.

In our Muslim caste,
if a girl works,

everybody incriminates her.

I always worried that people
would say this and that.

But people don't take care
of my house!

People don't pay my rent.
People don't buy my groceries.

People don't do anything for me.
I have to.

In a way, after stepping out,

I've learned so much
about the world.

If you don't know anything,
you're easily taken for a ride.

It's important to learn this
in order to live.

A lot of women face
these difficulties.

I meet many troubled
women on the train.

I don't think there is
a solution to this.

My little sister got married
and now lives here

with her child.

I'm also responsible for them.

I got my third daughter married.

It was a hard time for us
but she received a proposal,

so we got her married.

Actually, I told Mummy
not to get her married.

Because I didn't feel good
about her husband or in-laws.

Just after the marriage,
her in-laws started acting up.

Right from the beginning,

my sister-in-law
used to harass me.

One time, there was
a big fight on the street.

Her husband called her outside
and slapped her very hard.

Heena became unconscious
and fell to the ground.

Then Heena's elder brother
started fighting.

He said, "If you touch her,
I'll break your arm."

When I tried to stop the fight,
my sisters-in-law showed up.

One pulled my hair
and the other kicked my stomach.

Both families went
to the police station

and filed reports.

The policeman told them,
"Don't you know she's pregnant?"

"If something happens to her,
you'll be jailed."

So they handed Heena's
custody to me in writing.

I don't know. I don't
understand how it happened.

When I had done blood tests
in my second month,

nothing had shown up.

But when I did tests
at the Bhagavathi Hospital,

the doctors told me
that I had just been infected.

I didn't even know what HIV was.

When she was pregnant,

she had to get
some standard tests done.

The next day, reports showed
that she had HIV.

My husband
and Mummy were crying.

I said, "What's the matter?
Please tell me."

Then everyone told me
and I cried as well.

I wondered
why it happened to me.

There is no cure for it here.

People say there's
a cure in America,

but we don't have
the ability to go there.

After hearing this,
my mother-in-law said,

"Why should I spoil
my son's life?"

She implied that I should leave.

People think of bad things
when they hear HIV.

"There must be something wrong
with the girl."

"She must be up to something."

Her husband didn't have HIV.

Then how did she get it?

She didn't use a blade
or anything.

He must have it
for her to get it.

But he says he doesn't.

Saba and I have never seen
his test results.

Maybe Mummy has seen them,
I don't know.

How did she get HIV?
Because of him of course.

Who else could do it?
She doesn't even go out.

And I got her married so young.

Then?

We took care of everything...

from her delivery
to the child's expenses.

Her in-laws only went
to the hospital

when the child was born.

And instead of seeing the child
first, the husband...

first asked the doctor
whether the child had HIV.

Now he's in jail.

In my last month of pregnancy,
doctors told me,

"You'll have a C-section
because of the HIV."

One doctor told me,

"In the first six months
of your pregnancy...

the HIV tests will continue
to say positive."

"But if you check
after six months,

the test results
could be different."

In the first six months,
we kept praying...

but the tests
always said positive.

There is a shrine
here in Santa Cruz.

I prayed there for 40 days
in my last phase of pregnancy.

If I prayed with
all my heart maybe...

I would get what I asked for.

I asked that the delivery
be normal...

and everything be okay.

And the delivery was normal.

We tested the child
and the tests were normal.

This was a miracle.

I made a promise that
if I became okay...

if my results were normal,

I would return
to the Ratlam mosque.

I've been having recurring
dreams that I'm at Ratlam.

I've asked a lot of people
why I'm having such dreams.

I've even asked many
reputed religious scholars.

They say, "It means that
your prayer has been fulfilled."

"You should go and get tested."
I said, "Yes, I should."

Why haven't you?

I'm scared of what
the results might be.

It's like what they say,

"Fate takes people in directions

that are often impossible
for them to even imagine."

The people who know
think it's better...

for Heena to get a divorce.

They say, "She is so young."

"Who can even tell
that she is married?"

Once divorced,
I've told her, "If you find..."

somebody you like,
I can get you married."

But she says,
"I don't want to get married."

That's fine. It's her choice.

Today, I stand on
my own two feet...

and I'm able to
support my family.

I plan on saving enough
to buy Mummy a house...

or at least lease one.

And then I'll get married.

I'm already engaged.

My fiancé has told me,
"I'll allow you...

to work even after marriage."

So I can continue
to support Mummy.

My fiancé is nice enough to say,

"Think about
your family before me."

With his support
and my family's support...

God willing, I'll succeed.

Kaikasha says,
"I'll only marry a man who...

lets me play cricket,
even after marriage."

But all she ever
talks about is...

cricket, cricket,
cricket, cricket.

Sometimes I think

that because of the problems
at home,

I have a hard time
playing cricket.

But I can't leave cricket.

When I love it so much,
why should I?

I even quit my old job for it.

Now, I do scoring
for MCA matches

and private matches.

There's umpiring and scoring,

and they've increased
the pay for both.

So when I can make 1000 rupees
($15) a day doing this,

why struggle doing
anything else?

From Monday to Friday,

I have my own coaching
and practice time.

And for a month,
I coach at the BPCL ground.

I pray that she is successful.

By God's grace,
she won so many trophies...

and it made me very happy.

What my brother didn't do,
my sister did.

I'll go play cricket
even if I'm sick.

I don't think I'm
a role model for anyone.

But people do say, "It's nice
that you're still playing."

"I'm thinking
about playing too."