Kiran Rao, whose film Laapataa Ladies garnered acclaim during its theatrical release and broke financial records on OTT, celebrates its recognition as India’s official entry to the Oscars. In an engaging episode of The Rule Breaker Show, filmmaker Kiran Rao sat down with host Shaili Chopra to explore the evolving landscape of Indian cinema and the representation of women both on and off-screen.
Reflecting on her 25 years in the industry, Kiran remarked, "I have worked here for 25 years now, and I feel like things have changed vastly; but still we are so few in number, and our stories actually are so few. You can't do well in a movie theatre without a big film star. You still can't."
Why Do We Still Need a Male Hero For a Box Office Hit? : Kiran Rao
Despite the challenges, Rao highlighted the benefits of the OTT platform, noting, "Luckily, they have the freedom and privilege of telling a lot of these stories. So we have to go there, but how many people can afford OTT? We are absent from the large mainstream, I still feel."
However, she remains optimistic about the strides made by women in the industry, stating, "We have women now growing in films, you know, kind of playing better parts with more agency, more interest, more complex characters, and things like that, but really not enough."
She referenced a study funded by the American Consulate called Lights, Camera, and Time for Action, which examined women’s representation both on and off-screen. Rao added, "The representation of women as part of cast and crew is less than like 15% on a regular film and like 20, 25% on a female-orientated film. So there’s a long way to go, and I'm happy we've started."
Kiran Rao Advocates For Diverse Stories
When discussing the demand for diverse stories, Rao responded emphatically, “It's high time that we tell the stories of like half our population. I think we were longing for it. I mean, firstly, we are half the audience. Women are half the audience. We've always wanted to see ourselves up there. It's not like we didn't. We wanted to kick ass. We wanted to do interesting things. And we just always were the romantic co-lead, you know, so we’ve been waiting.”
She continued, "Other than that, I genuinely think that the world has opened up to us in the last five or 10 years with what we are watching, with things that we're seeing around the world. It is a bit of a trickle-down effect."
Rao shared her insights that resonate deeply as the industry continues to navigate the complexities of representation. "We've been looking for interesting women who have stories of their own that separate them from the masses and tell you that you can be interesting and different from what people have told you to be all your life. I think that's what we've been longing for. Not the idealised woman."
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