"‘Laapata Ladies’ taught me our privileges are not common": Kiran Rao

In an exclusive conversation with Hook, ‘Laapata Ladies’ director Kiran Rao opened up on how the film isn’t just about rural women, but relatable for every woman. The ‘Dhobi Ghat’ creator also talked about storytelling in the era of shortened attention spans, the importance of recognising women’s contributions in today’s world, and what makes a director tick.

What ‘Laapata Ladies’ taught Kiran Rao about womankind

Many described ‘Laapata Ladies’ as a heartfelt tale of rural women. But Kiran opened up on how some experiences are universal to womankind, and making the film made her realise that: “You know, ‘Laapata Ladies’ really taught me that, as much as we might think that a lot of the privileges that we have today are much more common, they really are not. Our stories are intertwined in ways that actually will surprise us. The kinds of erasure that women face in many, many parts of India, we see in many parts of the world.”

Talking about how women across the globe face very similar problems of being underestimated and sidelined, she said, “I've just been travelling in parts of Asia and I feel we are not so different. Women have faced similar issues across time and we need to reclaim from that erasure. ‘Laapata Ladies’ really taught me-- as I was making it-- that as much as I thought it was a story of rural India and rural Indian women, it was my story. It was the story of perhaps most women around the world, and a story that needed to be told across the world.”

Kiran Rao on being a woman in power lists

Touching upon the subject of erasure and women not being acknowledged, here’s how Kiran reacted to being a part of Fortune India’s '100 Most Powerful Women' list: “I feel it's about time. We need to include women more. We needed to have included them a thousand years ago, or as early as there were any kind of power lists or panels.”

Highlighting the manner in which a certain category of people are featured on power lists more often than not, she said, “Essentially, I think more voices of people who are not your traditional, empowered white male or empowered upper caste, upper class man, are the voices that we want to see more and more in power lists.

Kiran Rao’s take on storytelling in the era of virality

As a director making films in the age of TikTok and Instagram, Kiran also shed light on how creatives have to strike a balance between their own artistic voice and what might go viral among audiences. She said, “All artists and all creators of any kind face this challenge of how they can be authentic, tell stories that they really want to tell, and not tell them because they think they'll be successful or viral.”

She also added that catering to shortened attention spans affects what makers create: “I think a lot of what we see is the result of following trends. It's the result of a lot of calculation of people's attention spans, of what would hook an audience within the first 3 seconds. Storytelling has really changed as a result of our switch to social media and all these kinds of immediate dopamine hits that we get. So, I think for us, it's a challenge. I do think we have changed even as creators and consumers ourselves.”

But, Kiran remained hopeful that these trends will lead to innovation in terms of the future of film-making: “We're going to find our way out of it because at the end of the day I think it's very human to want to communicate. Perhaps this is going to change the way we do it and we might have to find ways in which we tell important stories or find ways to connect with each other in shorter time spans for storytelling, or in completely new ways through social media. It's a time for inventiveness really. I think I'm ready for it,” adding how she hopes it won’t be the end of longer formats: “I just hope that there'll always be space for contemplation. There'll be space for kicking back, having something slow, because I think everything is sped up so much that it doesn't leave space for long-form storytelling.”

What Kiran Rao finds beautiful and chaotic about filmmaking

Speaking about what makes her heart beat as a filmmaker, Kiran talked about the adrenaline rush of bringing to life what she envisioned during the making of her much-loved movie 'Laapata Ladies'. Delving into how directors feel relieved when a scene is shot despite constraints like time or the light available, she said: “That moment when you think, ‘We've got it,’ it's a crazy shot. The train has to leave, another train is coming in, we're losing light. And when you say cut and 'We've got it and we can move on.’ It's probably the happiest moment for any director to say, 'I've got it, moving on.’ Those are golden words, almost as golden as saying ‘It's a wrap on the film.’ ‘It's a wrap on the film’ is very bittersweet and you feel sad when you say it. But, film wrap is not as much fun as saying ‘I've got it.’”