Meghna Gulzar On Daayra And The Tightrope Walk Of Turning Real Tragedy Into Cinema

Meghna Gulzar believes cinema does not always have to provide easy answers — sometimes, asking the right questions is just as important. At the music launch of Daayra in Mumbai, the filmmaker was joined by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Gulzar Saab, where she spoke candidly about her approach to stories that explore difficult issues. For Meghna, filmmaking is often about searching for answers alongside the audience rather than pretending to have all the solutions.

When asked whether a director’s job is to provide answers or raise questions, Meghna offered a thoughtful perspective. “Look, if we had the answers, we would certainly provide them. But we are searching for answers,” she said. According to the filmmaker, there are stories and social issues that do not have straightforward solutions, which is precisely why the same questions continue to return. She believes that the absence of immediate answers should not become a reason to stop searching, making the act of questioning an important part of meaningful cinema.

That philosophy becomes particularly relevant with Daayra, a crime thriller inspired by a true event. Meghna was also asked about the challenges of taking raw reality and transforming it into cinema when audiences are already aware of the events being portrayed. The filmmaker explained that even when a story is based on something real, it still needs to be fictionalised for the screen — but that process comes with clear limits.

Meghna stressed that filmmakers have to remain conscious of how far they go when fictionalising real-life incidents. The biggest challenge, she said, comes when the subject involves tragedy or human suffering. “You have to be very conscious not to exploit that grief,” she explained, adding that the objective should be to portray the incident and its consequences without turning someone’s pain into entertainment or spectacle. For Meghna, this principle has always been a moral compass, shared by her writers Yash and Seema, who were also present at the event.

Calling the process a “tightrope walk,” Meghna acknowledged that bringing real tragedy to the big screen is far from easy. The filmmaker has to balance cinematic storytelling with sensitivity towards the people and circumstances behind the real events. That balance becomes even more important when the audience already knows the broad outlines of what happened. Rather than simply recreating an incident for shock value, Daayra appears to be interested in exploring the questions and complexities that remain long after the headlines have faded.

Co-written and directed by Meghna Gulzar, Daayra is produced by Vineet Jain and Dhaval Jain under Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios. Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran headline the crime thriller, which is inspired by a true event and is scheduled to release in theatres on September 18, 2026. With Meghna’s emphasis on questioning rather than easy answers, and her insistence on treating tragedy with responsibility, Daayra could be a film that challenges audiences not just to watch a story, but to think about the uncomfortable questions it leaves behind.