I approach my craft only on instinct: Meghna Gulzar

Surrogacy, the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder and now the India-Pakistan equation... It is always the subject, says Meghna Gulzar, whose films reflect her preoccupation with issues of relevance to the India of today.

The director of "Filhaal", "Talvar" and now "Raazi", a cross-border spy drama that explores the India-Pakistan dynamic against the backdrop of 1971 War, believes her growth as a filmmaker has coincided with the maturing of the audience.

"As filmmakers, we tell stories that come out of our surroundings and we tell them for the people who are going to see them, of the people who are going to see them. We are making these stories for us.

"I feel there has been a mutual growth between me as a filmmaker and the audiences. They are also appreciating these films more and maybe I am also doing my job better," Gulzar told PTI in an interview.

Her 2002 debut film "Filhaal", on surrogate motherhood, was a "little too ahead of its times", she says. The critically acclaimed film, which did not do too well at the box office, was followed by "Just Married", about the travails of a couple after their arranged marriage, and a story in the anthology film "Dus Kahaaniyan".

There was an eight-year gap before Gulzar found her mojo again with the 2015 "Talvar", which explored the sensational Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murders and has come to be known as one of India's finest films made in the true-crime genre.

Gulzar, 44, considers "Talvar" her "rebirth" as a director.

It has taken just two years for her latest, "Raazi", starring Alia Bhatt, to be ready for release.

Has she been "more prolific" in her second innings?
"I am not looking at the politics of the state while making this film. You will get to see the situation that is related to the period it is set in, nothing more, and nothing less. I wanted to be as honest to the story as possible."
"There is certain sensitivity in the personality and that reflects in the work. If I give the example of 'Talvar', the story could have been told in different ways but it was told that way because a lot depends on the sensitivity and sensibility of a filmmaker."