My film speaks about those women who have absolutely no right over their womb - Rima Amrapurkar

Rima Amrapurkar may today be referred to just as the daughter of the veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar but she holds the bright promise of turning out to be a filmmaker to watch out for in the near future.

After having made her debut as a director with the film Arre Arre Aaaba, Aata Tari Thamba a year ago, Rima has now made her first short fiction hard hitting film called Jananee.

Jyothi Venkatesh probes the women director whose film explores the issue of female foeticide in a light manner.

 

Q: Why did you think of making a short fiction film like Jananee after making your debut with a feature film like Arre Aree Aaba Aata Tari Thamba?
A: I set out to make my short film Jananee, only to show that the nexus which exists between tradition and technology has left most women in India with no right over their own womb. The short film stars Vinod Dhage and Darshana Kharaat 

Q: Where was your film showcased first?
A: My short film was show-cased not only at the recently concluded IFFI Goa but also Iran’s  Ruyesh Film Festival and shortly it is going to be shown at Karim Nagar at the fourth National Short and Documentary Film Festival.

Q: What was the budget of your film?
A: I shot my film on a shoe string budget of just a rupee and a half lakhs in a period of seven days, after having done an extensive research on the subject. It helped that I am a post graduate of economics who had earlier worked as a research associate at Pune Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics for a year, where I had done a lot of research on female foeticide and child health.

Q: Who came forward to back you as a producer with funds?
A: Sanjay Sankla, who is a veteran in Bollywood having edited several films for various film makers like Mahesh Bhatt, Indra Kumar, Suneel Darshan, Sameer Karnik and Raj Kanwar, has produced the film besides editing it.

Q: Did you set out to assist any one in direction before you made your bow as a director?
A: I was an assistant director on the sets of Dhamal. It was there that I had come into contact with Sanjay. When I decided to launch my debut film as a director, I asked Sanjay Sankla to edit my film Arre Arre Aaba Aata Tari Tamba.”

Q: What is Jananee about?
A: Jananee revolves around a young married girl called Manda who is pregnant for the second time. Manda is the wife of a debt ridden farmer and the mother of a daughter. Manda is in a dilemma when her husband asks her to go to a sonography clinic which can tell, if she can bear a son. When the corrupt doctor tells her that she is going to have a daughter, her husband wants to get rid of it at any cost and does not even mind mortgaging their house to spend on the abortion. Manda has no choice but having gone through with the ordeal, she is shocked when the nurse tells her in confidence that the foetus that was aborted was actually that of a boy and not that of a girl.

Q: What message have you set out to drive home through your short film?
A: Through my short film Jananee, I have set out to drive home the subtle but serious message that the evil nexus between tradition and technology in our country has left most women in India with absolutely no right over their womb. India has a tradition of preference for the son and now, it is a matter of concern that this preference has got technology to help boost it further.

Q:Is it true that you pruned your film’s length from the original 45 minutes to just 30 minutes?
A: Yes. When I wrote it, it was basically a short film with duration of 45 minutes but I decided to make it as a 30 minute short film. I think that the time constraint does not matter as long as I can put across in my film what I want to do convey -a subtle message in my own way.

Q: Why did you not make your film as a feature film since it has good content?
A: People wonder why after having made my debut with a feature film, I was insane enough to think of making an issue based and thought provoking short film. I am of the opinion that every story has its own life and I feel that there is absolutely no point in stretching a story, if it is not able to hold the interest of the audiences.

Q: To what extent did you seek your father Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s help for your project?
A: I did not want my father to put in a good word for me to help me make my film. I was very sure that I wanted to make my film on an experimental basis. I was very keen on showing how doctors and other powerful forces in the villages today exploit the gullible masses, who are ready to resort to anything just to get a son.

Q: What kind of problems did you have to encounter when you set out to shoot your film in a hospital?
A: I could not shoot my climax in the hospital, because the authorities refused to let me shoot my film if I did not disclose what my climax was and hence I had no other alternative but to shoot my climax else In the climax, the nurse tells the poor helpless mother that she had aborted not a girl but a boy.

Q: How do you plan to market your film?
A: I am practical enough to know that I will not be able to exploit my film commercially in cinema houses and hence I have tied up with some social organizations to show my film in various colleges.