The critically acclaimed actress says she is not ambitious at all and therefore, has no pressure of proving anything to the world with “Firaaq”.
“I think not being ambitious frees me from the pressure of proving to the world. I would love to explore different genres and characters, but not those that defy my basic sensibilities and interests,” Nandita said on why she prefers to stay away from mainstream cinema.
Considered one of the most sensitive actresses with films like “Fire”, “Earth”, “Bawandar” and ‘Ramchand Pakistani’, the actress said she came into acting by default.
“I have instinctively anchored towards projects that I can relate to, that resonated with my interests, concerns and dilemma. I didn’t grow up with mainstream cinema and I somehow never could relate to it,” she told PTI in an interview.
For her, social activism, acting or even directing a film, all lead to the same goal to react to sufferings around her.
“I get affected by the sufferings around me and simply react to it in the way I can. ‘Firaaq’ happened because I felt compelled to bring out certain stories,” she said.
The film has already won rave reviews at several national and international film festivals. It is all set to release on March 20. The story of the film happens a month after Gujarat riots of 2002 and stars actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri and Tisca Chopra in key roles.
Nandita said she was so disturbed with the Godhra riots, that it inspired her to make the film and express her anguish about the growing divide in our society.
“It is an expression of all the helplessness, anguish, anger, frustration, and the fluctuating optimism I have felt over the years. I think what happened in Gujarat was deeply disturbing and I started engaging with the issue of communalism in a much deeper way,” she said.
She added that making “Firaaq” had a “therapeutic” effect on her.
Describing it as a “personal film”, the director revealed that Naseeruddin Shah’s character is inspired by her mentors like Mrinal Sen, Soumitra Chatterjee and Kuldip Nayar.
When asked whether the film offers a solution to the social issue, she said, “Firaaq is not a prescriptive film that claims to give easy solution to complex problems.” “The idea is to raise a lot of questions we hesitate to ask ourselves about our own prejudice, fear and need for identity. It is more a reflection of our lives and choices and is a mirror to who are becoming.”
So is it a film with a message? “There is no overt message and all it says is that violence spares nobody and so it is up to us how we choose to respond to it,” she said.
On her inspiration to take up direction, the sultry actress said that the desire grew gradually during her acting career.
“As an actor, it was always exciting to watch the rest of crew work towards shaping up a scene. Often, I would get involved with suggestions or just observe the whole process. Slowly the desire to tell stories, the way I wanted to, started growing stronger,” she added.
She is hopeful that films like “Firaaq” would do well even at the box-office, if marketed properly.
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