'Patriarchy Still Rules': Interview With Kiran Rao on Laapataa Ladies

"I wanted to tell this story in a way that women are encouraged to find spaces for themselves," says Rao.

Kiran Rao is the ideal symbol of a post-modern woman.

She married Aamir Khan, a man from a different faith, married already to a Hindu woman with two grown-up kids. She fell in love with him during the shooting of Lagaan where she was one of the assistant directors. But the couple divorced after 15 years.

Kiran also opted for surrogate motherhood after a few miscarriages with Aamir’s cooperation. But though they are now divorced, they stay in the same building and are together in the bringing up of their son, Azad. She is also friendly with Aamir’s former wife Rina.

She unfolded her directorial command with Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) in 2011, a brilliant film, even though it did not shake the box office. After a long hiatus, she used her directorial wand to direct Laapataa Ladies, co-produced by Amir Khan and Rao, released earlier this month. 

In this one-to-one conversation, she talks about her film which is making waves both among the mass audience and in the media. 

You have taken up direction after more than a decade. Wasn’t it like directing for the first time? 

"It was scary to begin with, true. But once we began to work, I realized that I had not forgotten anything. I realized that directing a film is like cycling, you never forget it though you feel a bit rusty to begin with. And the entire crew, working several months before we began shooting, took away the rustiness I felt I had."

Why such a long gap between the two films? 

"I was quite young when I made Dhobi Ghat. And when you are young, you are often in a hurry to do everything fast, with the belief that everything can happen in a hurry. As I grew, I realised that everything happens in its own time."

I" could easily have gone into depression because the thought of making my next film always haunted me. But I didn't. I aspired for motherhood. When this did not happen naturally, we brought Azad into our life and once he did, I enjoyed the thrill of being a mother for some time."

"In 2018, I happened to hear of Biplab Goswami’s Two Brides. Aamir came and narrated the story to me in one line and said, 'I heard a fantastic story after a long time.'"

[Editor's note: 'Laapataa Ladies' is based on Biplab Goswami’s prize-winning screenplay, 'Two Brides'.]

What is the film about?

"The film is about two rural brides who get swapped and lose their way because of their veils. The veil is metaphorical and symbolic because neither can the young brides see people outside their veils nor can anyone get to see their faces. What this can lead to results in fun, adventure, romance, and affection. Everything in small doses." 

What kind of response is Laapata Ladies getting from the audience? 

"My film is in no way like the big-budget films released recently that are also making a lot of money. Since it had a theatrical release only on 1 March, it is too early to tell how well it will do on the business side. But the good news is that Laapata Ladies premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September last year."

What kind of films do you think should be made?

"Every filmmaker should make a film that they themselves would like to watch. One group of directors makes films with the box office as the target. And the audience responds to this quite positively. There are many directors who like to tune their films on a very high scale. I sincerely believe that I will make films that will make me happy and my audience also will like them. Never mind if this is a fraction of the response to the loud and lavishly done films."  

In what way and how much has Aamir Khan contributed to this film? 

"He was very much present while casting for the film and fine-tuning the screenplay. But I made it clear that during the shooting, his presence was not required. We would bring the footage we had shot on a given day and show it to him. He would dismiss us with comments like 'very nice' and let go."

We heard that Aamir Khan had also auditioned for a part in the film. 

"That’s right. He had. But I personally felt that his star image would have made a dent in the natural, star-less quality of the character of Inspector Manohar which Ravi Kishen portrayed. It is grey but he redeems himself in the end."

"Had Amir played the role, though he was wonderful in his audition, it would have taken away the twist in the climax because his screen image is built up differently among the audience. And Ravi Kishen, one of the only two known faces in the film, has done a wonderful job." 

How did you zero in on the location?

"Biplab Goswami’s story was such that it could have used any setting in the northern parts of India where the custom of brides covering their faces with long veils is still in practice. We scoured many places within Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and Punjab, and finally settled for a place close to Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh government has made the state very shooting-friendly and this helped us greatly. For the train shoots, we went to Nashik."

Other than Ravi Kishen and Chhaya Datar who portray the strong woman who runs the tea stall near the railway station, every actor is new. How did you prepare them? 

"We had workshops in my office for three months before we went to the shoot. We built temporary 'sets' within the office and the actors actually 'acted' out their scenes, so when the shooting began, they were familiar with their characters, their co-actors, and their lines. And they are all very thrilled when they are watching the film now." 

The film spills over with messages that drive home the issue of women empowerment but this is done in a very low-key and subtle manner, and never through slogans or oft-repeated agendas like domestic violence per se. Did you do this intentionally? 

"It is true that violence is an agenda of most mainstream films today and this works well among the audience too. Toxic masculinity is also present. There is neither any space for me to make value judgements or to reject these realities."

"But as a filmmaker, I also feel that I have a responsibility towards the film I am directing, towards my audience and myself. The very fact that I am able to make a film is a privilege. But it is also difficult to make a film filled with lots of violence, song-and-dance scenes, loud dialoguebaazi, and so on."

"Today, a director has to choose between a loud film filled with razzmatazz or a film that narrates a moving story. I choose the latter."

Laapata Ladies is not exactly a “feminist film.” Do you agree?

"Yes, I do agree. In the film, the men are good too except for one exception that comes in the end. I did not wish to make a “feminist” film the way we define the genre. The film says again and again that patriarchy still rules and women also are a part of it."

"I wanted to tell this story in a way that women are encouraged to find spaces for themselves, even if it is within marriage or their families. I did not want to endorse any massive revolution or breaking of ties. Neither did I want to be judgemental. And this seems to have worked. The reviews are very positive and the footfalls in the theatres are rising."

(Shoma A Chatterji is an Indian film scholar, author and freelance journalist. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)