Women centred films by Fida

After having cast Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit in his maiden directorial venture Gajagamini a few years back and Tabu in the second, Meenakshi in A Tale of Three Cities, the painter-cum-film-maker has decided to feature Urmila Matondkar in a lead role in his next celluloid project of a comedy.

Ask the 88-year-old painter the reason for making women-centric films and pat comes the reply:' a woman is an inexhaustible source of energy. She is the symbol of shakti (power)'.

While Gajagamini portrays the various facets of a woman including as a mother, through the history of mankind, Meenakshi; A Tale of Three Cities explores the conflict between the writer and the character he or she delineates.

The film was shot in three cities Jaisalmer, Hyderabad and Prague which Hussain likes most. The dubbing of dialogues of the film was undertaken in Hyderabad, which has a good infrastructure for filmmaking.

Turning to his proposed third film, he says humour is a serious aspect of life and it will examine humour through a woman.

Hussain insists he picks the stars for the lead female roles in his films as per the requirements of the subjects dealt with in them.

Unlike the craze for his paintings, none of the films made by Hussain clicked at the box office. They are not meant to be. And he appears unfazed by that.

' I don't make films for the box office. I make them for my creative satisfaction. If people come and watch my films and like them, fine', says Hussain. There is little doubt that he speaks out of conviction.

What is amazing about Hussain is his boundless energy for work either painting, organising exhibition of his work at home or abroad or film-making, even at this age.