The Hindu : New Delhi News : A journey to explore the activist behind the actor

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Thursday, May 01, 2008
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A journey to explore the activist behind the actor

Madhur Tankha

NEW DELHI: A film star concerned with issues plaguing society, Nandita Das is more interested in talking about women’s empowerment and human rights of the marginalised and the minorities rather than the make-believe world of Bollywood.

The actor will speak her mind on a host of issues and her film career on CNN’s programme “Talk Asia” this coming Saturday. Host Anjali Rao had a freewheeling interview with Nandita at a sound studio as the actor is engaged in post-production work on her debut directorial movie titled In Such Times.

For someone who stumbled upon acting accidentally and never wanted to become an actor, Nandita’s extraordinary talents are well-recognised. Most recently she won the French award of “Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres” for her contribution to cinema.

The articulate actor says she acts because there are wonderful stories to narrate and she explains how lack of realism in a typical Bollywood film never attracted her. “There is a certain kind of cinema that I don’t relate to…I didn’t even grow up watching them.”

During the course of the interview, Nandita brushes off the controversy stirred up by her role in Fire that was about a lesbian relationship. The actor gave a critically acclaimed performance in this Deepa Mehta film. “The bigger evil was how can you talk about homosexuality in a society that would rather not talk about it,” says she.

On her role in Bawandar in which she portrayed a woman who is criminally assaulted by more than one person, Nandita says she often tells women that they have got to be strong. “I don’t think women’s empowerment is ever going to be possible without a society overall wanting to change things.”

Nandita talks about her new role behind the camera, directing In Such Times, a film about how acts of violence affect its characters’ lives. “I think it’s a universal story, I think we are all concerned about violence….at some level, there is a collective desire for peace and it’s good to examine yourself.”

Talking about her special experience as a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury, Nandita says: “The best part of being in Cannes was not just to see great films or to walk the red carpet and all the hype that is around it, but to have those sessions with eight other brilliant minds.”

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