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Journalism of Courage
Nearly 13 years after Kiran Rao made her directorial debut with Dhobi Ghat (2011), a multi-layered movie about four people from different backgrounds navigating love, loss and longing in Mumbai, she is back with her compelling sophomore project, Laapataa Ladies, that turns the happily-ever-after idea on its head. Its story takes the audience back to the 2000s, a period when a mobile handset was a desirable addition to dowry, and follows two brides Phool (Nitanshi Goel) and Jaya (Pratibha Ranta), who with their faces duly covered in ghoonghat, get swapped during a train journey.
Though the film’s premise sounds dark, Rao deftly turns it into a heartwarming comedy and a coming-of-age tale of the newlyweds. Along the way, the movie also smashes a few patriarchal notions. “As women, we are often trapped in the roles that we play for the family or community. The idea that they could leave everything behind, have unexpected encounters and discover something new is exciting for me,” says the director-producer.
When actor Aamir Khan, Rao’s former spouse and the film’s co-producer, came across the screenplay titled ‘Two Brides’ by Biplab Goswami while judging a competition, he suggested that she take it up as her next directorial project. Though Rao realised that the story offered the possibilities to explore what could happen if a young woman did get lost, she was keen to further develop certain characters and scenarios, apart from introducing new ones.
“Biplab’s story was a wonderful starting point. When Sneha Desai got involved with screenwriting, I knew we would explore a lot more in terms of how we shape the characters. More than representation, we wanted to explore lives of different kinds of women as well as men,” recalls Rao.
One of the characters to be introduced by Desai is Manju Mai (Chhaya Kadam) a tea-stall owner who provides shelter to Phool, one of the missing brides. “Manju Mai is someone I wanted in the story as an example of a woman living life on her own terms. When you are young, you want someone to tell you that the world is your oyster; you can take it easy; or, do what you want without bothering about people’s opinion. It’s nice to have Manju Mai tell that to Phool” says Rao and adds that Desai also worked on the character of Phool’s husband Deepak (played by Sparsh Shrivastava).
Rao chose fresh actors to play the lead characters as she believed that would help the audience “buy the conceit that two girls could get swapped 23 years ago in the middle of nowhere”. She adds: “Once you know a well-known actor is in this film, it automatically becomes about that well-known actor.” As the director and co-producer of Laapataa Ladies, Rao wants to make sure everyone knows that the film has a theatre opening. There is an assumption now that a film like this, without big stars and dance numbers, directly goes to streamers. To reach the audience through the clutter of information is a much harder job than making a film,” adds the director, who started her career as assistant director in movies such as Lagaan (2001).
Though Rao has been part of the industry for over two decades now, she hasn’t witnessed sweeping change when it comes to having more women in decision-making positions. “There is a dearth of women in every department of filmmaking. Not just women but people with disability; from queer community; as well as different caste and cultural backgrounds should be involved. Why does it have to be mainly men, especially savarna men telling these stories?” she asks.
Apart from serving as the chairperson of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Rao has also been co-producer of several remarkable movies including Delhi Belly (2011), Talaash (2012) and Dangal (2016).
Even “in the so-called advanced West”, she believes, the number of women directors remains few. “After making Nomadland (2020), Chloe Zhao went on to direct Eternals (2021). There are other women directors making Marvel movies, but it has just only begun. Women finding their space within the industry has been a long struggle. Unless women start writing more or play an active part in decision-making, you are not going to see stories that are representative. The onus is not on women alone but also on those who are in the position of power to make that inclusion,” says Rao, who has now set up her own production house called Kindling Pictures.
The commercial concerns and ecosystem need to change, according to her, if the industry were to create space conducive for experimenting with different kinds of movies. “Most filmmakers have the impression that the theatrical filmgoing experience is so expensive that people go out only if it’s some giant escapist kind of cinema. We are hoping to change that. People do want to see good stories with right pricing. The focus should shift from how do I make a blockbuster to what’s the most exciting kind of cinema,” says Rao. Citing the example of Netflix series Kohrra’s success, she points out people are interested in rom-coms, as well as crime dramas like this. “Just because Jawan did well, we can’t say how many guns we can have in the next movie,” she says.
Rao has already zeroed in on a few ideas and hopes to work on her next directorial project soon. “There are certain stories I wrote specifically for a series, which gives space to develop a character. I am also interested in documentaries. I am hoping to create a documentary series on women in early Indian cinema, from 1900-1950. It is the most thrilling period of India’s cinematic history. Women, who were artistes and came from tawaif background, had their own independent money. They became producers, singers, actors, directors and music composers. I can make several projects set in that period — a feature film, a series and a docu-series.” These stories should put the spotlight on women, who made remarkable contributions in shaping Indian cinema, but are missing in popular narrative today.
