Meghna Gulzar believes conversations around women’s safety need to move beyond telling women how to protect themselves. As her upcoming film Daayra explores crime against women and the different ways society, the police and the law respond to it, the filmmaker argues that responsibility cannot be placed solely on women.
During an exclusive conversation with Filmfare, the National Award-winning filmmaker shared, “I want to advise everybody, not just girls and women. I want to advise boys and men too. If one maintains respect, ‘daayra’, and responsibility, everyone will be fine.”
She continued, “It’s not about telling girls and women that it’s unsafe to go out at a certain time or that they shouldn’t wear certain clothes. We need to tell boys that their gaze needs to be different. They shouldn’t see a woman merely as a woman. They should see her as a human being.”
For Gulzar, however, changing that mindset cannot happen through instructions alone. “These values can’t simply be forced into someone’s mind. They are shaped through upbringing,” she stated.
Daayra, which stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran as police officers on opposing sides of a controversial case, is rooted in multiple real-life incidents.
Critics and audiences have received the trailer of the film very well. The event videos have also gone viral on social media, and audiences are now eagerly waiting to see Kareena and Prithviraj together for the first time, with both actors stepping into the world of policing.
The crime thriller is produced by Junglee Pictures and Dr Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios). Distributed by Pen Marudhar, the film releases in theatres on September 18, 2026.
Watch the full conversation with Meghna Gulzar and Prithviraj Sukumaran below:
Also Read: Exclusive: Meghna Gulzar Speaks On How The Right Questions Will Be Raised By Daayra
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