Penning the madness

Sitting at the British Library in Sector 9 in conversation with Nirupman Dutt,Deepti Naval,a woman of many talents,turned the pages of her book,Black Wind and Other Poems,and revisited the wards of a mental institution she once stayed in to research for her role in Ankahi and to pen a script.

“It’s a hard hitting section that I’m about to read,about women locked up in mental asylums,” she warns. “Bahut bhavuk huyee ga,tabhi to paagal huyee ga,an inmate told me,” she reads lines filled with pain,angst,anger,longing,and somewhere,hope. “The world of the mentally disturbed is that of the hyper sensitive,of the unabashedly honest,of stark reality,of people who are dumped there for life. We take so much care of physical ailments,but when it comes to mental illnesses,we shun the person,ridicule them and banish them from our lives,” she says,adding how one tends to lose themselves in this world where there are no masks or facades.

“My friends had to pull me out at the end of 23 days,” she says,after reciting Stench of Reality,The Lunatic on the Wall and Goddess among other poems,and adds how for some,confinement also translated into freedom.

The result of her experiences is also a script,called Split. “I am still looking for funding. In this industry,people want entertainers,not dark films,” she says.

A writer first,Deepti confesses that she had to hone the craft of acting. “I am not a trained actor,and for me,getting under the skin of a character,living their lives,is important,or the audience will catch my lie,” she says. “For me,when I am in front of the camera,that’s real,that’s the moment I want to live.”

Though she is still the Chamko girl of Sai Paranjpe’s cult classic Chashm-e-Baddoor,Deepti counts Kamla,Ankahi,Main Zinda Hoon,Leela,Freaky Chakra,Ek Baar Phir as some of her best works.

“Sai was an amazing director,and I hope her cinematic sensibility resonates in my next film,Do Paise Ki Dhoop,Chaar Aane Ki Baarish,” she says. A film about an ageing prostitute (played by Manisha Koirala),a physically challenged child and a struggling homosexual song writer (Rajat Kapoor),the story is written by Deepti and inspired from a chapter in her gay song writer friend’s life. “It’s a love story,and no,it’s not dark,” she assures us.

March will see her next film as an actor,Memories in March,where she essays the role of a mother grieving the loss of her son and how she rediscovers him as a man. “Each and every role I have done has been a conscious decision. I chose the cinema I wanted to do for I always wanted to reflect the real woman. I never run away from things but confront them,and I preferred to stay on the periphery of Mumbai film industry.”

Following her heart wasn’t easy,for there was a price to pay. “It was the right thing,and I am still greedy for great scripts,still chasing dreams and deadlines,” she signs off.