Deepa Mehta: Why is self-determination in women interpreted as selfish?

IndianCanadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta is set to screen her documentary lsquoI am Siratrsquo at the Kashish Pride Film Festival in Mumbai on May 18 lsquoI am Siratrsquo follows Sirat Taneja a trans woman as she navigates her life in New DelhiSirat leads a fulfilling life outside her home with a steady job a supportive circle of friends and an active presence on social media However at home she is forced to hide her true identity and pretend to be someone shes not a dutiful son to a mother who cannot come to terms with having a transgender daughter Shot almost entirely on smartphones this collaborative documentary offers us an intimate look at Siratrsquos life and explores the duality that is an oppressive reality for many LGBTQIA individuals Mehta best known for her Elements Trilogy lsquoFirersquo 1996 lsquoEarthrsquo 1998 and lsquoWaterrsquo 2005 has received critical acclaim for her nuanced portrayal of complex social issues and human rights struggles through intimate storytelling This dedication to social commentary has garnered her numerous awards and accolades including an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for lsquoWaterrsquoAlso Read Gen Z and Technology Bandrabased Gen Z redefines dabbawalla deliveries in MumbaiThe festival will also unite Mehta with acclaimed actor and director Nandita Das for a conversation with noted film critic and curator Meenakshi Shedde to celebrate 26 years of the release of lsquoFirersquo A landmark film for the LGBTQIAmovement in India lsquoFirersquo broke ground by depicting a lesbian relationship a topic absent from mainstream Indian cinema at the time This portrayal brought homosexuality out of the shadows and into the homes of middleclass India The film sparked public dialogue and challenged traditional views on sexuality paving the way for greater visibility and understanding of the LGBTQIA community in IndiaIn an exclusive chat with middaycom Mehta talks about her unrelenting curiosity the public response to lsquoFirersquo and discovering a liberal side of Delhi through her codirectorHere are edited excerptsIn lsquoFirersquo Sita tells Radha ldquoThere is no word in our language that can describe what we are How we feel for each otherrdquo In times when most people were not armed with the vocabulary to selfidentify what drew you to make the filmI think other folks in India were armed with the vocabulary for selfidentity but perhaps lsquoFirersquo allowed them to express it At least the anger that lsquoFirersquo unleashed by selfconfessed lsquoprotectors of Indian culturersquo who proclaimed across the board that there were lsquono lesbians in Indiarsquo reverberated through the country I remember vividly when the Regal Cinema in Delhi had been trashed for screening lsquoFirersquo a protest that evening just blew me away As far as one could see and observe I saw women carrying placards that proclaimed ldquoWe are lesbians and we are Indiansrdquo I think we underestimate the human ability to see through bull shitI had made a film about emotional empathy turning into a physical relationship and was curious about how it would affect the two female protagonists Little did I know that it would affect a large part of the Indian population Male and female Too bad it was shut down and our amazing Indian distributor Jhamu Sughand took a huge financial hit I remember what he said to me as lsquoFirersquo was taken off all the movie halls ldquoJaane do Hum ne accha kiya Paisay gaye to kya huardquoAlso Read Anuvab Pal lsquoThere is intolerance towards everything Laughing is what makes it tolerablersquoThe films ending is powerful and ambiguous Can you discuss your reasons for choosing this ending and what you hoped audiences would take away from itI am glad you think the ending is powerful and better still that it is ambiguous There is no certainty in life Change is the only constant Forgive if it sounds trite But hey thatrsquos what I really believeAfter the Central Board of Film Certification cleared lsquoFirersquo without any cuts did you anticipate the scale of protests the rightwing subjected it to Do you believe lsquoFirersquo could see a theatrical release in the current scenarioI was deeply touched when the censor board of India headed by two really strong women passed the film without any cuts But the irony is that it was the Mahila Aghadithe womenrsquos wing of the Shiv Sena that barged into a Mumbai theatre and rampaged the movie hall Most of them carried lsquobelansrsquo and flourished them like weapons Could lsquoFirersquo see a similar scenario in the current climate Only if it serves a political purpose I thinkToday audiences view cinema with a microscopic lens and quickly comment on whatrsquos appropriate Do you believe lsquoFirersquo has aged well Looking back at the filmmaking process is there anything you would have done differentlyI think the curiosity that made me make lsquoFirersquo has aged well The cultural battle between duty responsibility and family obligation versus selfdetermination still rages As Avni Doshi in her brilliant novel lsquoBurnt Sugarrsquo has the protagonist ask ldquoWhy is selfdetermination in women interpreted as selfishrdquo If anything I wish we had made the film in Hindi But when the translation arrived I felt it was a bit heavyhanded And unfortunately we didnrsquot have the time nor the money to have it get another goHow did you come across Sirat Taneja What made you invested in telling her deeply personal storySirat Taneja played the role of a jailer in the dystopian series Leila which was codirected by Mehta We all Huma Qureshi Priya Sreedharan and Netflix Creative loved the fact that she had no hesitation in going the distance Sirat is fearlessLGBTQIA representation in the media has often lacked the nuance and sensitivity of a queer perspective I am Sirat is a collaborative directorial effort by you alongside Sirat Taneja How did her queer gaze influence the documentary How has your storytelling evolved in depicting queer lived experiencesSirat was an invaluable partner in making lsquoI Am Siratrsquo I learnt so much from her and more importantly she exposed me to a Delhi that I thought did not exist A liberal Delhi of the gay and transgenders Far less bound by tradition than what would be expectedAfter premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 I am Sirat is set to screen at the Kashish Film Festival in Mumbai What are your expectations from Indian audiencesI am so glad that lsquoI am Siratrsquo is getting screened at South Asiarsquos largest LGBTQIA film festival as it will find a larger audience I think Sirat the protagonist Sirat the codirector Sirat the transwoman Sirat the hopeful against all odds Sirat the Instagram persona Sirat who loves her family Sirat who laughs easily Sirat who is so wise and kind would be BLOODY hard to resist