Teen Diary

As a teenager,I was plump and cranky,was constantly made fun of,poor in studies,couldn’t play any sport because of being overweight and had a bunch of loser friends. I was also least popular in school. In short,life was pretty boring. Furthermore,growing up in the outskirts of Kolkata,in a convent setting,with minimum facilities did not add to the excitement either. I wasn’t fashionable at all. I always oiled my hair,did not wax till college and was just happy spending time with my friends making fun of everyone else. It was only when I realised that my behaviour was loserly and miserable that I turned the tide in my favour by laughing at myself. I became the clown of the class and I instantly became popular.

When I began writing Gippi,the most important thing was to shed all my inhibitions,dive into my life and bring out the best and the most memorable anecdotes. I did not want to try and appear cool because I knew that none of us had cool teenage years. I even borrowed the characters and characteristics from people around me. Teenage years were also about sharing those little secrets with your close friends. My best friend,Aanchal,and I used to have these talks with a few sexual connotations.

When I was growing up,the most embarrassing aspects of my life were when my mother often declared my ‘growing up’ in front of others. There were times when we would be in a gathering and my mum would look at me and loudly shout,‘Kahin tere periods toh nahin start huye’ (Haven’t your periods started?),and I would want to bury my face somewhere. There was also a time when we were seated with a few friends and she looked at me and said,‘I think tujhe bra ki zaroorat hai!’ (I think you need a bra!). Anecdotes like these and many more have made it to my film.

Sonam Nair is a filmmaker.