Not into the formulaic

With her directorial debut, Tere Mere Phere, Sahi is back in the news. “I was offered a good budget for my movie by a corporate body,” the actress-turned-director says and adds, “But I declined the offer. I did not want to compromise on the way I wanted to tell my story. I believe that content is more important than money.”

Quality is priority

Without mentioning the name of the corporate body, she simply points out, “The first thing a corporate asks, when you take a project to them, is who are the stars working in the film. They wanted me to cast stars. I refused even when they said they would procure the required film stars for me. It is not just the producers or financiers who throw their weight around, but stars too coerce directors and script writers to make changes in the script as per their whims and fancies. Besides, there were other factors like the rights of the film negatives and various other claims that invariably come into the picture whenever a corporate body takes over a project.”  

Though she feels that content will always rule in any form of art, she does admit that changes have taken place after corporates entered the film industry. “We live in a world where packaging is more important than the product itself. Publicity and promotional gimmicks are given more priority than the story of the film,” she rues.

Sahi, who had starred in lead roles opposite Shah Rukh Khan in films like Maya Memsaab and O darling Yeh Hai India, is all set to carve out her own niche when it comes to film direction too. With acclaimed filmmaker Ketan Mehta by her side, Deepa is conscious about her identity as a director. She says that her relationship with Ketan Mehta while working on the project was strictly professional. Ketan Mehta and well-known singer Anup Jalota are the producers of the film. “It’s completely my movie,” says Deepa. She adds, “It is my perspective and vision. I cannot make a Rang Rasiya. Similarly, Ketan would not be comfortable making a film like Tere Mere Phere. I feel sad when people draw comparisons and say that Ketan is trying to revive his wife’s career. These male chauvinistic statements sometimes hurt me.”

In recent times, Hindi cinema has seen many women directors like Zoya Akhtar, Anusha Rizvi, Nandita Das, Farah Khan and Reema Kagti making critically and commercially acclaimed films. But, Sahi feels, “Hindi cinema has always had talented women directors.
Earlier, we had Sai Paranjpe and Kalpana Lajmi, pioneers in making serious films, making meaningful cinema. The only difference is that today, we have a large number of women directors making films. But they still face the same obstacles and hurdles a male director would face. I do not like to discern between men and women when it comes to film direction.”

Citing her experience in making Tere Mere Phere, she says, “It is a film that tries to explore the bittersweet relationship of a married couple. It is a story that transcends age and cannot be slotted in any genre.” The film stars Vinay Pathak and Riya Sen and introduces Jagrat Desai and Sasha Goradia.