'Not a global citizen if I don't talk about uncomfortable things': Anuparna Roy on her speech mentioning Gaza kids

Not unexpectedly, Roy hit the headlines. For her award and for her fiery acceptance speech from the global stage in Venice.

Mumbai: She had no speech ready but Anuparna Roy, the first Indian to win the Orizzonti Award for Best Director for her debut film "Songs of Forgotten Trees" at the recent Venice International Film Festival, knew exactly what she would say if given the mic and the stage.

It had to be about Palestine.

"If I have a mic and I'm not talking about these uncomfortable things, I won't consider myself a global citizen. I'll be just a random bourgeoise ignoring everything possible happening around. I don't have the power to change the global politics of India or Palestine but it is my responsibility to point it out," Roy told PTI in a virtual interview.

"It’s a responsibility at the moment to stand by Palestine. I might upset my country but it doesn’t matter to me anymore," she said on the stage, describing her film as a tribute to "every woman who’s ever been silenced, overlooked, or underestimated".

Recalling that unforgettable September 6 evening, Roy said she had no script in hand and others around were ready with what they would talk about.

"I'm like 'I know I'm going to ruin it and I might end up crying'. I talked with my producers and they were also worried about it but they said 'just say whatever you feel like'. They gave me the courage to talk about it. It was not planned. I was shaking,” she said.

In fact, her sari, which was designed by Assam's Muskan Mittal and features a tribal painting from her home in Purulia, also has a Palestine flag in the border.

The glittering stage in Venice is miles away literally and metaphorically -- from Narayanpur village in West Bengal's Purulia where Roy grew up. She graduated in English literature from Kulti College under Burdwan University before moving to Delhi to study mass communication before finally pursuing her cinema dreams in Mumbai. Encouraged by her parents, the self-taught filmmaker found her voice and her medium.

Before her lyrically titled debut feature made a splash, her short film "Run to the River" was selected in the Cheboksary Festival in Russia in 2023.

The short film, Roy said, was inspired from the works of Satyajit Ray, Ritwick Ghatak and Jafar Panahi, and primarily comes from the life of her maternal grandmother who kept talking about rivers familiarly though she had never seen one due to her marriage at the age of nine.

"It was my first film. But the urge of telling the story of my nani was very personal, I sort of ended up making it political, just like any cool filmmaker,” she said.

“I never thought I'd get into filmmaking. I thought I’ll end up writing a script. I ended up writing a very bizarre script, it was my first script (‘Run to River’)." The “Songs of Forgotten Trees” takes that sensibility further.

It follows the story of Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actor who survives the city by leveraging beauty and wit. She meets a fellow migrant working a corporate job and sublets her sugar daddy’s upscale apartment to her. The two women -- seemingly from different worlds -- discover a silent empathy.

The film, initially titled “White Ghost”, also draws inspiration from the life of her childhood friend Jhuma and her grandmother, both married off young but in different eras.

Roy’s initial idea was to “find her friend Jhuma through a documentary”, but since she didn’t get funding to make it, things didn’t take off.

"The moment I was about to make something which is about women's intimacy, a sense of reference to her was there inside my head. Jhuma's character was invisible in the film, but it was very prominent. It was one of the first inspirations, one of the first instincts where I felt like, ‘Ok, I'm going to talk about it. If not a documentary, then it has to be a fiction where I am going to mention this girl’,” she said.

Roy has already shifted her focus towards her next projects.

"I'm developing something that will talk about British Bengal... We will talk about my grandmother and her stepdaughter's era... The work is going on. I am also going to shoot something soon, a quirky, fast-paced movie, which will talk about "marginalised people and their desperation in Bombay",” she said.

The director also credits mentors like Bengali film editors Anirban Maity and Paresh Kamdar, along with director Neeraj Sahai, who played a crucial role in guiding her and introducing her to world cinema. Anurag Kashyap, whose "Gangs of Wasseypur" she said blew her mind with its story and craft, is also a presenter on the movie.

Roy, who also worked in a call centre and later in IT sales, said she discovered that films could serve as a mirror reflecting issues that demand attention after she saw the 2004 war-drama “Turtles Can Fly" by Bahman Ghobadi.

She is among the growing breed of female voices in cinema that are making India proud in international film festival circuits. Most recently, Payal Kapadia became the first filmmaker from India to win the Grand Prix at Cannes for "All We Imagine As Light".

The filmmaker said Payal was among the industry people who were first to congratulate her on the win. She also received wishes from filmmakers Kiran Rao, Zoya Akhtar, Rima Das and Vikramaditya Motwane.

Roy is now back in Mumbai, still reliving the memories of screening her film and the win at the prestigious film gala the packed hall, the spotlight on her and a seven minute standing ovation.

"I realised that this is not just bringing the recognition but it is also bringing in a lot of responsibility to make cinema even when I'm uncomfortable. So the feeling is yet to sink in, I am still processing it," she said.