MUMBAI:
Films and books have the power to affect the subconscious, however subtly, believes actor-director Nandita Das, who has won national and international acting awards for her socially relevant films.
“No film has brought in any revolution, but you and I are also what we have seen, what we have read. Everything has an influence on our subconscious mind, and the responses we have in various situations are because of all those influences,” said Das.
Her directorial debut, Firaaq, was highly acclaimed around the world. A political thriller set in the aftermath of Gujarat’s communal violence in 2002, the film received two national awards and even a popular Filmfare Award.
Das thinks people can feel threatened by films. “There are films that can make a subtle difference. Why do people want to ban films? Why do people want to ban books? It’s just a film. Why not let the two hours just pass by? But it’s because they realise that a film has the power to get into your subconscious in a subtle way,” she said.
However, Das believes that technical skills are very important to generate the required effect. “I think that films that deal with subjects in an interesting, entertaining and gripping manner can become threatening,” said the actor.
Das has acted in films like Fire, Earth and Bawandar. She bagged the best female actor award for Bawandar at the Santa Monica Festival in 2001 and for Amaar Bhuvan at the Cairo Film Fest in 2002. Das also served as a Cannes jury member in 2005.
She plays a lead, alongside Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla and Sanjay Suri, in director Onir’s new film I AM on stories of struggle for individual identity. The film follows four characters’ entwined journeys and shows the tension between social presumptions and personal choice.
“This film deals with personal choices, it deals with discriminations, it deals with identities, it deals with all those things that all of us grapple with,” said Das, who’s character Ashia chooses to be a surrogate mother.
Das did the film for multiple reasons.
“Firstly, Onir is an extremely sincere director. Secondly, the stories were powerful, I could relate to them and it says something that our society needs to see. Thirdly, he (Onir) democratises the whole funding of the film,” she said. Onir raised a third of the budget for I AM via Facebook and Twitter solicitations.
Das enjoys acting, but after Firaaq, she hopes to direct more films. She finds directing “challenging, interesting and exciting, but also very consuming and emotionally engrossing.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2011.
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