Depicting a maid’s journey of juggling her job with her passion of becoming a tailor, writer, director, and producer Rohena Gera’s debut feature film Sir has garnered appreciation at film festivals across the country. While the first screening at the 71st Cannes was a dream come true, her latest screening at Birmingham Indian Film Festival won her the Audience Award.
“I feel honoured and grateful that the film connects so strongly with audiences. We have won several audience awards around the world, but the awards at Indian festivals are special because it’s an Indian film,” expresses Gera who also won the best film award at the 19th Annual New York Indian Film Festival.
The film — starring Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber — that she started writing in 2014, according to the director is the reflection of the struggle of wanting to take an action against the things one doesn’t agree with in the society. “It’s not a simple issue. It’s not about good guys and bad guys, and frankly I am very bored of Manichean portrayals of victims and oppressors. Which is why it took me so long to find a way to take on this conflict, and that is why I chose to tell it as a love story. When you are in love, you see the other person’s point of view almost automatically. And it is seeing another’s view of the world that I feel is important,” she elucidates.
Most importantly, Gera wanted to portray Ratna (Tillotama Shome) as someone dynamic, full of hope and optimism “She’s not a victim, has a dream and goes for it. She is inspiring. I feel Indian women make the best of their situations and find a way to thrive and rise above the most difficult circumstances,” the writer explains.
But oftentimes, with filmmakers the portrayals are a result of their various encounters and experiences, which Gera believes all writers do. “I think all writers draw on life and experience, both real and imagined. But I do feel that the emotional arcs of this film and the understanding of the characters draw from my life.”
Gera, apart from having directed a documentary What’s Love Got to Do with It?, has also written the film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and the iconic television series Jassi Jassi Koi Nahin. She perceives filmmaking as a means of engaging with society. However, she stands against storytelling that reinforces prejudice or debases women. “I don’t like preachy films, but at the same time I think it’s important to have a point of view. But as far as documentary versus fiction goes: I think the story or the idea would determine the form, fiction or documentary,” she asserts.
With theatrical releases in France, Germany, and Japan on August 2 — yet to have an India release — Gera is practically living out of a suitcase leaving her no time to write, the job she loves most of all. “I am a writer, and love the process of storytelling. I have worked a lot in fiction and I love the interactive process of creating characters and then letting them guide you. I loved the process of collaborating with a crew on bringing the film to life,” she reveals.
She still finds screenwriting as the most painful part of the process and producing a thankless job. “Directing is fun because you have collaborators who help amplify and enhance your ideas with their contributions. So I would choose direction, or rather writing-directing. But being a producer, you get so little credit for making a film. All the accolades go to the director, which I feel is a bit unfair as the film is a team effort,” she concludes.
