Oscar-Qualified Holy Curse: Lilly Singh and Snigdha Kapoor Discuss Telling Queer, Honest Stories

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 How did Lilly Singh become executive producer of Holy Curse?

Lilly Singh: When I got an email from Snigdha, I found the film’s title intriguing. I was surprised that in 15 minutes, I felt so many different emotions. I was laughing, got really emotional and even saw myself in it at some point. Snigdha’s storytelling is exceptional. The film is very on brand with me and everything I stand for. We can relate to this time in our life where we thought, ‘I don’t feel seen. I have to label myself this way or step into this box’. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Snigdha Kapoor: I’ve followed Lilly’s journey and how she has challenged and defied so many norms. I relate to the hustle and how she stood up for her voice and did not compromise on so many things.

Snigdha, what was your process of writing and then directing?

Snigdha: What we experienced growing up or any emotions that we go through, they invariably become a part of our writing process. Growing up in India, I did not have the language, but I’ve lived in America for almost 13 years now. I was exposed to such a vast vernacular of these different labels and identities. When I wanted to write the story, it was going back to that central phase, which is such a formative phase, where we were evolving our sense of self and identity. So that’s where I was trying to go back to and from there take the story forward.

Lilly Singh with Snigdha Kapoor.

Lilly, so much of your work is about gender. How crucial is it for you to tell these stories?

Lilly: It’s everything. I remember I was on a panel once and one of my other panelists said, ‘People often come up to me and say, it seems like you have an agenda around gender’. She goes, ‘I do, I do have that agenda’. I remember learning a lot in that moment because a lot of times in my life, I have felt like it is an uncool topic. My whole brand is about gender equity. But sometimes we beat around the bush, we tiptoe around it. Us questioning all the things we’ve been taught is a better way to do all of this. Another important theme of the Holy Curse is us learning from younger people the importance of questioning. When we get older, we get so stuck in our ways.

We also have another strong Oscar contender in Homebound and there is a slight overlap of themes. Is it just a coincidence?

Lilly: I don’t think it’s a coincidence. People are today writing and creating from their experiences things that are important to them. There needs to be room for these types of stories as well. Ones that have commentary on gender and ones that have commentary on caste or identity or faith. That’s when we really have true representation.

Going ahead, what kind of projects would you like to do related to India?

Snigdha: I am working on a feature which is set in India. It is tonally different from Holy Curse. I just want to explore myself as a storyteller.

Lilly: I’m working on two additional features as well. One is about Indian aunties who go on this wild girls’ trip.