<p>Arati Kadav's debut feature film 'Cargo', featuring actors Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi, has garnered much attention on social media since its release on Netflix this month. </p>.<p>The film premiered at MAMI Mumbai Film Festival last year and received a good response. Produced by Kadav, Shlok Sharma, Navin Shetty and Anurag Kashyap, the film is set on a spaceship with lead actors as demons who are in charge of recycling dead people for rebirth. Taking inspiration from Indian mythological tales and folklore, Arati showcases her love for sci-fi work in the film. </p>.<p><em><span class="italic">Metrolife</span></em> caught up with the young director to talk about 'Cargo' and its making. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Tell us about using afterlife as a topic for the film.</strong></p>.<p>I used the topic to guide people on how to live their lives in the world now. Be it using theories such as karma, or whatever it is that people believe in, I felt that I should look into what afterlife would be like for the present generation. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>You used Indian mythological characters to anecdotes of wanting to be Salman Khan in the film to add comic flavour. Was that intentional? </strong></p>.<p>Well, we do have the tendency to go crazy with our aspirations. Whether it is to become the next hero or achieving some sort of goal, in reality, everything you do now is so meaningless in the larger picture. Yes, it does drive you ahead but you end up letting that define you so much that you forget life is so much more than that. </p>.<p>My idea was to show that we live in such a capitalistic society and we have become a goal-obsessed society. Even now, when I made the film, everyone told me that I've achieved my goal. I told everyone that my happiness is not defined by the film. I think people found such anecdotes funny because they can relate to it. Comedy cannot come without truth in it. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>So what's your idea of heaven and earth? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, I believe that when you die, you just die. Yes, my stories do nudge people to believe in heaven and earth but it's also okay to just die. You should be happy that you get the opportunity to be part of this finite time and you should value what you have. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>The people you worked with for the film are all your friends. Was it easier to switch from short films to feature?</strong></p>.<p>It definitely was. I was blessed that all of them let me focus on making the film I wanted to make. It could have been difficult but their faith in me really helped. As a female director, I know how difficult it is to achieve that. I'm happy that I had all feminists as my team members. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Do you feel welcome in the industry as a female director? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, people from the industry haven't reached out to me yet. But I don't feel too welcome in the country because when I approached many to showcase my sci-fi film, they say that the Indian audience isn't ready for such content. But now I have proof. I mean, eventually, you are making films for the people and in 2020, what is the industry? We are all making films outside and releasing it on Netflix. So anyway, we are all just sharing the space. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What kind of director do you want to be known as? </strong></p>.<p>The one who brought magic in people's lives. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Any upcoming projects?</strong></p>.<p>I'm working on submitting screenplays to international spaces as I not only want to make good content for India but also material that will do well internationally. I think it's high time India contributed to sci-fi cinema. </p>
<p>Arati Kadav's debut feature film 'Cargo', featuring actors Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi, has garnered much attention on social media since its release on Netflix this month. </p>.<p>The film premiered at MAMI Mumbai Film Festival last year and received a good response. Produced by Kadav, Shlok Sharma, Navin Shetty and Anurag Kashyap, the film is set on a spaceship with lead actors as demons who are in charge of recycling dead people for rebirth. Taking inspiration from Indian mythological tales and folklore, Arati showcases her love for sci-fi work in the film. </p>.<p><em><span class="italic">Metrolife</span></em> caught up with the young director to talk about 'Cargo' and its making. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Tell us about using afterlife as a topic for the film.</strong></p>.<p>I used the topic to guide people on how to live their lives in the world now. Be it using theories such as karma, or whatever it is that people believe in, I felt that I should look into what afterlife would be like for the present generation. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>You used Indian mythological characters to anecdotes of wanting to be Salman Khan in the film to add comic flavour. Was that intentional? </strong></p>.<p>Well, we do have the tendency to go crazy with our aspirations. Whether it is to become the next hero or achieving some sort of goal, in reality, everything you do now is so meaningless in the larger picture. Yes, it does drive you ahead but you end up letting that define you so much that you forget life is so much more than that. </p>.<p>My idea was to show that we live in such a capitalistic society and we have become a goal-obsessed society. Even now, when I made the film, everyone told me that I've achieved my goal. I told everyone that my happiness is not defined by the film. I think people found such anecdotes funny because they can relate to it. Comedy cannot come without truth in it. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>So what's your idea of heaven and earth? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, I believe that when you die, you just die. Yes, my stories do nudge people to believe in heaven and earth but it's also okay to just die. You should be happy that you get the opportunity to be part of this finite time and you should value what you have. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>The people you worked with for the film are all your friends. Was it easier to switch from short films to feature?</strong></p>.<p>It definitely was. I was blessed that all of them let me focus on making the film I wanted to make. It could have been difficult but their faith in me really helped. As a female director, I know how difficult it is to achieve that. I'm happy that I had all feminists as my team members. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Do you feel welcome in the industry as a female director? </strong></p>.<p>Honestly, people from the industry haven't reached out to me yet. But I don't feel too welcome in the country because when I approached many to showcase my sci-fi film, they say that the Indian audience isn't ready for such content. But now I have proof. I mean, eventually, you are making films for the people and in 2020, what is the industry? We are all making films outside and releasing it on Netflix. So anyway, we are all just sharing the space. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What kind of director do you want to be known as? </strong></p>.<p>The one who brought magic in people's lives. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Any upcoming projects?</strong></p>.<p>I'm working on submitting screenplays to international spaces as I not only want to make good content for India but also material that will do well internationally. I think it's high time India contributed to sci-fi cinema. </p>