“As I never wanted to be an actor, I did not have to go through the usual struggles” – Nandita Das

Nandita Das is an Indian actor and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das won accolades for numerous performances, including in Fire(1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Azhagi (2002), Kamli(2006) and many more. Her directorial debut Firaaq (2008), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and traveled to more than 50 festivals, winning more than 20 awards. Her second film as a director was Manto (2018). Based on the life of 20th Century Indo-Pakistani short story writer Sadat Hasan Manto. The film was screened at Cannes Film Festival in the “Un Certain Regard” section.

 Q. ‘Firaaq’ and ‘Manto’ received great feedback from its viewers. How does it feel? What led you to directing these movies after initially starting out as an actor?

You put in so much to tell a story that kept your interest for several years, that you do anxiously wait for the feedback to see if it resonated with them or not. Filmmaking is not a personal artform. You make a film because you want to share, reach out, and communicate. So, it is definitely heartwarming when your intent reaches people. I am overwhelmed by the responses. All the hardships and challenges seem worth it!

Deciding to make ‘Firaaq’ and ‘Manto’ was more about having the urge to just tell these stories, and not so much about making the shift to direction. For ‘Firaaq’, I felt that it had to do with waking up to newspapers with stories full of violence, getting into conversations about religion and identity and seeing them turn into polarized debates, meeting victims of violence, feeling helpless and disturbed by the happenings around us… all this and more.  During my many travels and interactions, I have sensed a collective desire to understand this complex and violent world we inhabit and a palpable need for peace. I hope ‘Firaaq’ reflects this spirit and touches the hearts and minds of those who watch it.

I was introduced to Manto in college. What drew me to making the film was the man’s free spirit and courage to stand up to orthodoxy of all kinds. I was struck by his simple yet profound narratives and the way he insightfully captured the people, politics and times he lived in. He wrote as he saw, as he felt, without dilution, and with a rare sensitivity and empathy for his characters. He was irreverent and had an irrepressible desire to poke a finger in the eye of the establishment, often with sharp humour. For years I thought of making a film based on his short stories, even before I made ‘Firaaq’.

Q. How has the transition been like between acting in and directing movies? Has the experience of being in front of and behind a camera given you new perspective?

For me, in many ways acting to directing was a natural progression. But not without big and small challenges due to the hundreds of factors that need to be dealt with and many simultaneous decisions that need to be made at any given point. I am really glad that the film got made against all odds and from the overwhelming responses received thus far, it seems to be resonating with the different people from different socio cultural backgrounds.

Directing is far more consuming and obviously very different from acting, as it challenges every aspect of one’s personality. The journey of making Firaaq has pushed my boundaries and by this I don’t mean only creatively. As an actor one doesn’t realize how much more goes into a film than just the shooting. Also having gone through this experience I feel, a film is not the sum total of its parts. Directing entails making choices and decisions at every step and taking responsibility for all its aspects. There are 100 odd people who work on the shoot and as a director, you become like a parent! Also the post production has many technicalities and learning all of that on the job, was both challenging and exciting. But I don’t think I can direct one after the other and would definitely like to take time off to do other things, acting surely being one of them.

Q. You did your Masters in Social Work from University of Delhi. What inspired/ influenced you to take up social work understanding that time. How your education complemented your profession and activities.

I took a year off after my graduation. During that year, I taught at the Rishi Valley School for a term of four months. And then, I went back to my hometown in Odisha, and I conducted some workshops with children for a month. I realized in that year of interacting with many different people, that what I loved most was to work with people. Also, I wanted less of academics and more experience of the on-ground realities. And in that sense, doing a Masters in Social Work gave me a great opportunity to understand many different realities that I would not have been able to, without it. A degree doesn’t make you a better social worker, but it definitely exposes you to many different issues that one would otherwise not have the opportunity to get exposed to.

Q. You actively work for children’s rights, HIV awareness, violence against women. Do you think over these years a gradual change is being seen in the society? What more need to be worked on?

Of course, society changes. Some things change for the better, and some for the worse. Society, with its many institutions, influences and ideas, is bound to evolve. Some changes are more evident, while some can only be noticed in retrospect. In terms of what more needs to be worked on, I think the list is endless. But definitely, we could do with a more peaceful, compassionate and just world. It is sad that discriminations, prejudices and inequalities seem to be on the rise.

Q. Your campaign ‘Dark is Beautiful’ had been very successful, as a lot of people identified with the thought and supported the campaign. On what one thought you would like to run a campaign or would you like to change in the present society?

It is difficult to mention just one thought when there are so many different issues that impact so many different people! There are quite a few organisations, activists and citizens who are engaged in working towards changing the status quo. The media does not shine light on all of them, but they do exist, and they are working relentlessly. I think that a greater sense of empathy, compassion, kindness – words that seem to have become boring – should take the center stage in our education, conversations, policies and agendas. That said, if I had no option but to mention only one issue that deeply bothers me, it would be discrimination of any kind.

Q. What are your thoughts on the growing intolerance in India and its effects on one’s creative freedom? 

People are being killed or put behind bars for speaking up, or are being threatened for liking a Facebook post; I guess we are not living in the best of times. The fact that many are self-censoring for fear of being witch-hunted is alarming. Things could always be worse but writers, artists, filmmakers can be the conscience and the strength of a society and tell things as they are – to ensure that silence does not become the only response and the situation doesn’t worsen.

Today whatever is worth speaking about is bound to be provocative and controversial, and therefore will threaten the orthodox and those in power. Censorship exists in many forms – the “official” censor board, the self-proclaimed custodians of culture who have taken it upon themselves to censor what we watch, what we read, what we eat and what we wear. And then we are self-censoring and cowing down in fear to a perceived sense of danger.

Q. The industry has historically been male-dominated. As a woman, what issues and stereotypes did you face when you first started out?

As I never wanted to be an actor, I did not have to go through the usual struggles, be it of finding work, or the casting couch. When you are not ambitious, it also frees you from such pressures. Of course, the colour of my skin and the nudges I would get to lighten it was expected. As the sexism and misogyny get subtler – something that often happens in “our class of people” – it gets more and more difficult to call out. Because you can’t target it head on. And this stands true in all kinds of professions.

When I was directing Firaaq, I could feel a certain amount of sexism even in my crew, in the way they interacted and the kind of words they used like “stop crying” or “stop being cranky” and other phrases they would not use if it were a male director asking for something to be done. The pursuit remains to try to be more of a person than to be bogged down by these other identities.

After Firaaq, I was repeatedly called for panels on women directors and asked what it was like to be one. My answer was simple. I’m a director who happens to be a woman, and there is no way that I would know what it feels like to be a male director! Neither Firaaq nor Manto are ‘women-centric’. Given my engagement with issues of gender, some were downright disappointed that I chose a male protagonist for my second film. And some felt the socio-political context wasn’t feminine enough. Women are impacted by all things in the world just as men are. When male directors make films across genres, themes and identities, then why as women directors, are we expected to limit our choices?

Moreover, as a woman, the burden of looking a certain way is disproportionately higher than it is for a man. And not just for actors or models, but even for a professor, a scientist, a politician or a filmmaker. I was surprised that even on set, this seemed to matter. In festivals like Cannes, the expectations are of course much higher. Apart from being a director who has to worry about the film projections, invitee lists, interviews and so much more, I have yet another thing to juggle and worry about. While it is less at university screenings, there is always a pressure of being in the public domain.

Q. Can you share an instance of struggle that inspired you?

 Life is a struggle and each one of them inspires you to learn from it.

Q. What would you like to tell/appeal to the readers ?

Live and let live.