It’s time to clean up the film industry. After all, cinema is a reflection of society

Why do you call “From the Shadows” your most difficult film?

It took me six years to make it because I was looking at the stories of the victims and their legal battles for justice. One of the victims was always scared of being stalked, she thought acid would be thrown on her face because it happened to her friend. I engaged an all-female crew to make it a safe space. We took the lead from activists Leena Kejriwal and Haseena Kharbieh who fought the case. But there were still nights when I would wake up in a cold sweat. I shot for over four years and I thought my film would end with a court verdict. But when that became elusive, and my victim told me I had to hide her face because the case was in court, I felt the canvas of my film was collapsing. Telling her story without her facial expressions was a huge challenge. Luckily, I got a fellowship that allowed me to look at my material calmly and decide that I could still tell the story. Then, Covid struck, and the film took another two years. It finally premiered in August 2022.

Yours documentary The focus is often on those living on the margins of society. What attracts you to these stories?

I am drawn to ‘invisible stories’, ordinary people with extraordinary stories who can touch our lives, provided we step into their shoes. Whether it is a rat catcher in Mumbai who works while the city sleeps to fulfil his goals in ‘The Rat Race’, or a stuntman who takes dangerous risks for the stars without any public recognition in ‘The Stuntmen of Bollywood’, these are the stories I love to watch. They also have a common thread – they are social issues that are connected to popular culture.

Can you tell us about your project? Women in Cinema Collective ,WCC), who is challenging the norms of male-dominated society malayalam film industry,

Although I now live in Mumbai, I am from Kerala and grew up watching Malayalam films. When the WCC was formed, many of the faces were people I respected as a filmmaker. I felt it was very important that this coalition of female producers, directors, writers and film technicians came together. We must remember that this happened just weeks before the #MeToo movement in the West. My research will include the impact of this movement in the rest of the country, as well as the parallel movement in Hollywood. I will be conducting interviews, visiting sets, and going to film archives to find images and stories that redefine gender in cinema History, or rather ‘his story’.

Hema Committee ReportBased on the petition of the WCC, it is said Sexual Exploitation This problem is very common in the Malayalam film industry. What do you say?

The 2017 case of a popular Malayalam actor being assaulted in Kerala had created an uproar in the industry because of its blatant brutality, the way it was filmed and the profile of those involved. It was an uphill battle to bring the findings of the Hema Committee report into the public domain. Not only did the WCC ensure that the victim’s case was registered and heard, but many actors also came forward to share their own horrific experiences, which have been recorded by Justice Hema in the report. It was a long-standing demand that these findings be shared to clean up the industry, eliminate the casting couch culture and provide safe spaces for women. Cinema, after all, is a reflection of society. Creating a safe environment for women will ensure wider participation and new stories that will benefit generations to come.

You dedicated your award to the women fighting for justice in the RG Kar rape case. What did you like about the protests?

I haven’t been able to post about the National Award yet because I am completely shocked by what happened in Kolkata, where ‘From the Shadows’ began for me. Before Kolkata, Unnao, Hathras, Delhi… the number and brutality of the incidents is staggering. Now is the time to reflect and take decisive action. I believe Kolkata will bring about change. I deeply admire the tenacity of the city’s women. Durga is the main goddess there, and I see the warrior-goddess spirit in Kolkata women. So in my film too, I have shown Durga Puja as a call for change.

Indian Documentaries There has been a lot of recognition around the world. Has this changed anything in terms of audience and funding?

International recognition has created a real appetite for documentaries in India. Sadly, while our films are being screened and distributed internationally, we are still unable to find the right distribution in India. ‘From the Shadows’ has received two grants from the US to do grassroots screenings in the areas where we shot the film. These include the Sundarbans, where we transported projectors and screens to India’s porous north-eastern borders in Shillong and Siliguri. Another grant helped us start a screening scheme in neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh, where cross-border smuggling is rampant. This is a completely different strategy than my other films, which first travelled internationally before coming to India.