For Indian filmmakers, there’s already self-censorship, a conscious level of censorship where you know which country you are in, what you can do, thus the mind doesn’t go there at all — you know you can’t cross certain political, social boundaries, said Alankrita Shrivastava, Director of Netflix’s new show Bombay Begums.
“However, now with OTT platforms and streaming, there’s a sense of opening up. Even 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have thought of working on something like Made in Heaven where the lead protagonist is gay and we are delving into his sexual life. But it’s important to tell our stories as they are but we have to be more subversive,” the director added while speaking at the New Indian Express’ ThinkEdu Conclave 2021 on Sunday along with Senior Journalist and author Kaveree Bamzai.
Speaking on how she ensures her women characters are diverse, the director added, “I have always wanted to explore women from a different class it was an instinctive thing I wanted to do. I wanted my work to look into women who don’t have the same economic opportunities, I wanted to explore how it is different for women who come from various economic backgrounds, harder to break off a lot of barriers in life."
"I have dealt with characters from different religions and it was not quite difficult as we all have had friends from a different faith when we were children. Caste is something I am learning more about right now, I am still educating myself more.”
Responding to Kaveree on how her work has helped her overcome some inherent biases, Alankrita said that a lot of unlearning needs to be done.
“I had this feeling of being trapped which is now getting undone. It is strange how women are happy with the leftover crumbs, that’s how society has made us. Through my work, I have gradually realised that I too can have my place. I’m still at a place where I’m feeling happy with very little, but it is getting better with time,” she explained.