When Tannishtha Chatterjee wrote and directed Full Plate, she was telling the story of Amreen (played by Kirti Kulhari), a Muslim homemaker who becomes a cook to earn a living after her husband is grievously injured in an accident. Through the narrative, the filmmaker explores gender roles, identity, patriarchy, and food politics. But when the film reached its post-production stage, little did Chatterjee know that, besides societal norms, it would mirror her own life.
Before the project was completed, Chatterjee was diagnosed with oligo-metastatic (stage IV) cancer. She reminisces, “It’s already so tough to make an independent film, and just when I thought people were willing to fund it, I was hit with the diagnosis. The struggle was relentless.” Yet she firmly believes that when you’re in a deep ditch, only then can you laugh about it. “And Full Plate is also a film like that,” she says. Premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2025 and recently screened at the Dharamshala International Film Festival, the film deals with the harsh realities of Mumbai’s slum dwellers, yet it’s a slice-of-life story served with humour.
Telling a stark story with humour was a conscious decision for Chatterjee. “I don’t have a dark view of life or the world, even in my darkest moments. Besides, we’ve often been accused of indulging in poverty porn, and I agree that we tend to portray poverty more disturbingly than it actually is. Outsiders may think, ‘Oh, poor them,’ but they also experience happiness. Their downs have ups, like everybody else,” she says.
Chatterjee relates this to the time of her diagnosis. “It may appear all dark from the outside, but you can still have a positive view of life in the darkest times. That’s what I wanted to tap into,” she explains.
The Parched actor has had to put acting projects on the back burner until the end of 2025 because she’s still on targeted therapy that requires her to visit the hospital every 21 days. “It especially becomes harder when there are other things, such as insurance, being the financial and practical support to the family, and so on. It can’t get more complicated than this,” she says, before adding with optimism, “But you need to take each day as it comes and not worry about what lies ahead.”
Chatterjee credits her positive attitude to her circle of friends, including Shabana Azmi, Dia Mirza, and Richa Chadha, among others. “During each of my chemotherapy sessions, my friends took turns being with me. We were laughing, singing, and joking. That made bearing the pain of the IV drips, my gut going for a toss, and debilitating headaches much easier.” This, she says, is what she wants to communicate through her stories. “Life is so fragile, and no one knows what tomorrow brings. So just laugh and love,” she smiles.
While facing this ordeal, her resilience has been her greatest self-revelation. “We are unpredictable to ourselves. I believe nothing is ever out of character—we’re just unaware of how we’ll react to a situation,” she reflects. And just like that, not only has Chatterjee taken her ailment in her stride, but she has also turned it into an opportunity to raise awareness about cancer. She’s currently working on a musical comedy stage production based on her own experience, set to open in January 2026. After that, she looks forward to facing the arc lights again.
Whether in front or behind the camera, her preference remains for independent films. “Indie films have a free voice, which gets suppressed in a studio system. This is evident in so much work of late—it’s all very formulaic. Creativity should not have a market demand. When you want to tell a story, you should tell it the way you want to,” she says.