‘We Are Fixated By White Skin In India’

‘Not
just
women,
but
even
men
are
judged
by
the
colour
of
their
skin
and
have
to
fight
prejudice
every
day.’

Whether
or
not

Renuka
Shahane
will


enter
politics,
she’s
certainly
inspirational
as
the
sweetly
smiling,
grass-root
politician
who
tries
to
break
the
glass
ceiling
and
keep
Dhadakpur
crime-free
for
a
bigger
goal
in
Amazon
Prime
Video’s
OTT
series

Dupahiya.

She’s
got
other
aces
up
her
sleeves
but
she’s
taking
her
time.

Renuka
tells



Rediff.com‘s
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya,
“I’m
a
little
slow
when
it
comes
to
writing.
I
have
a
lot
of
family
responsibilities
that
I
have
to
attend
to
with
the
children
growing
up,
so
writing
takes
a
backseat.”

After
watching

Dupahiya
one
wishes
you
would
do
more
work.

I
am,
actually.

Dupahiya
was
shot
around
August
to
October
2023.

I
did
other
projects
which
should
come
out
soon
so
people
will
see
me
more
frequently
now.

There’s
a
film
called

Chakda
Xpress
that
I’m
really
looking
forward
to.
It’s
a
beautiful
character
with
a
very
different
look.

The
film
is
a
biographical
sports
drama,
a
genre
I’m
not
associated
with.

It’s
not
a
very
big
role,
but
it’s
important
to
the
narrative.

I
really
enjoyed
working
with
Anushka
Sharma
and
our
director,
Prosit
Roy.

Since

Dupahiya
started
streaming,
any
reactions
in
particular
from
women
in
small
towns
and
villages
like
Dhadakpur
on
any
of
the
issues
it
raised?

I
think
what
has
really
hit
home
is
the
issue
of
colourism
which
was
highlighted
through
Pushplata’s
daughter.

Nirmal
is
a
very
intelligent
girl
who
encourages
everybody
to
do
something
beyond
their
capability.
Yet,
she
herself
is
struggling
with
an
inferiority
complex.

In
a
country
like
India
where
we
are
still
fixated
on
white
skin,
not
just
women,
but
even
men
are
judged
by
the
colour
of
their
skin
and
have
to
fight
prejudice
every
day.

In
the
circumstances,
for
a
mother
to
tell
her
daughter
that
she
does
not
need
any
kind
of
skin
treatment
and
that
if
someone
rejected
her
for
her
dusky
complexion,
then
they
have
a
black
heart,
is
pretty
awesome.
That
has
touched
a
lot
of
hearts.

Komal
Kushwaha,
who
plays
Nimal,
turned
the
spotlight
on
this
colour
prejudice
and
its
impact
on
young
minds
beautifully
through
her
nuanced
performance.

Some
of
the
older
ladies
also
loved
my
character
Pushplata’s
spirit.

They
found
the
middle-aged
widow
in
a
way
out
village,
struggling
with
power
equations,
and
yet,
in
her
small
way,
trying
to
break
the
glass
ceiling,
inspiring.

One
saw
you
in
an
unconventional
avatar
in
the
short
film,

Sunshower,
which
was
part
of
the
anthology,

Stories
on
the
Next
Page,
written
and
directed
by
Brinda
Mitra.
Rajeshwari
Sachdeva
and
you
play
a
couple
who,
urged
on
by
your
screen
son,
get
a
chance
to
finally
find
happiness
together.

Yeah,
it’s
a
lovely
film,
just
around
20
minutes.
It
is
streaming
on
Jio
Hotstar.

There’s
another
short
film,

Ek
Kadam,
playing
on
the
Pocket
Films
YouTube
Channel.

That’s
much
more
in
line
with
what
I
have
been
doing
on
television,
the
long
suffering,
submissive
woman
of
substance.

It
struck
a
chord
with
a
lot
of
women,
even
empowered
women,
urging
them
to
take
that
one
step
forward
to
finding
happiness.

There
was
another
film
with
Lakshmi
Iyer
and
Ananth
Mahadevan,

First
Second
Chance,
which
is
also
streaming
on
YouTube.

I
love
doing
stuff
like
this
which
offers
food
for
thought
and
hopefully,
a
slight
change
in
people’s
mindsets.

You
have
directed
a
short
film
too?

Yes.
I
have
written,
directed
and
produced
a
Marathi
animation
film,

Loop
Line,
which
is
doing
very
well
on
the
festival
circuit.

I
was
at
Tasveer,
a
South
Asian
Film
Festival
in
Seattle,
where
it
bagged
Best
Animation
Award
and
an
honourary
mention
for
Best
Narrative
Short
last
year.

It
revolves
around
a
day
in
the
life
of
a
middle-class
Maharashtrian
housewife,
who
is
representative
of
millions
of
women.

Why
animation?

I
have
always
been
fascinated
by
animation
which
is
the
predecessor
to
moving
pictures.

The
film
is
a
salute
to
that
art
that
sadly,
has
not
evolved
much
in
terms
of
mature
content
in
our
country.

We
still
think
of
animation
as
related
to
children,
cartoons
and
advertising
despite
appreciating
anime
from
abroad.

I
could
have
made

Loop
Line
as
live
action,
but
it
was
like
a
calling.

Something
inside
me
was
urging
me
to
experiment
with
animation.

I
met
Soumitra
Ranade,
Co-Founder
and
Chief
Creative
Director
of
Paperboat
Design
Studios
at
the
NFDC
production
market,
and
asked
him
if
we
could
collaborate.

This
was
the
first
time
they
were
working
with
a
director
who
was
not
a
part
of
the
direct
process
of
animation.

Loop
Line
is
just
around
eight
minutes
but
has
travelled
from
New
Zealand
to
Iceland,
validating
the
fact
that
if
a
subject
has
universal
appeal,
people
from
across
the
world
can
relate
to
it.

We
need
to
make
more
such
films
so
they
can
be
subsidised.

Currently,
animation
is
a
labour-intensive
and
expensive
process.

For
me,
it
was
a
passion
project.
I
don’t
expect
any
returns
on
my
investment,
knowing
there
are
no
distribution
channels
for
animated
films
with
mature
content
in
India.

Not
even
on
OTT?

I
wouldn’t
know;
I
haven’t
pitched
it
to
any
OTT
platform
yet.

After
we
finish
the
rounds
of
the
festival
circuit
by
July,
I
will
do
so.

If
any
of
them
pick
it
up,
it
would
be
great.
Otherwise,
I
will
be
only
too
happy
to
put
it
on
YouTube,
so
people
can
watch
it
for
free.

Have
you
written
anything
that
could
turn
into
a
feature
film,
which
you
could
direct
like

Rita
or

Tribhanga?

Yes,
there
are
two
feature
films
scripts
that
I
have
written
and
a
short
film
which
I
might
turn
into
a
feature.

(Laughs)
I’m
still
working
on
them;
I’m
a
little
slow
when
it
comes
to
writing.

I
have
a
lot
of
family
responsibilities
that
I
have
to
attend
to
with
the
children
growing
up,
so
writing
takes
a
backseat.

Are
your
sons,
Shouryaman
and
Satyendra,
showing
signs
of
following
in
the
footsteps
of
their
talented
parents?

Not
at
all.
They
are
far
removed
from
our
world.

Right
now,
they
are
still
studying
and
haven’t
figured
out
what
they
want
to
do.

I’ve
told
them
it’s
okay
to
take
their
time
and
then
pursue
their
passion.

So
it
could
be
acting
too?

As
of
now,
they
are
not
keen.

(Laughs)
Also,
they
are
so
pressurised
by
the
fact
that
people
might
see
them
as
nepo
kids,

bechare!

When
both
the
parents
are
in
the
industry,
that’s
a
lot
of
pressure
on
any
kid
from
the
industry
to
live
up
to.

You
have
a
Marathi
film
releasing
soon?

Yes,
on
April
25,
and
I
am
waiting
for
people
to
see
it.

It’s
produced
by
Luv
Film,
their
first
Marathi
film,
and
directed
by
Tejas
Prabha,
with
whom
I
had
done
the
Marathi
comedy
drama,

Bucket
List,
earlier.

It
has
Mahesh
Manjrekar
in
the
title
role
and
is
a
really
intense
script.

Your
husband,
Ashutosh
Rana,
has
been
doing
a
very
popular
play,

Humare
Ram,
in
which
he
plays
Raavan.
Have
you
ever
thought
of
doing
something
on
stage?

Not
really.
I’m
thinking
of
doing
things
behind
the
camera
now.

Also,
a
play
requires
a
different
kind
of
commitment.

Ranaji
has
been
doing
this
for
the
last
one
year,
and
because
the
play
is
hugely
popular,
he’s
basically
been
doing
only
this.

It
also
requires
you
to
travel
a
lot
which
I
can’t
do.
I
need
time
to
handle
our
home,
kids
and
my
writing.

(Laughs)
In
between,

thoda
bahut
acting

bhi
kar
leti
hoon
(I
do
some
acting
too).

After
two
decades,
is
your
Hindi
as
good
as
your
husband’s?

(Chuckles)
Not
as
good.
His
language
is
just
amazing.
Since
Ranaji
is
such
a
voracious
reader,
it
keeps
getting
better.

Speaking
any
language
well
requires
good
vocabulary
and
a
thought
process,
along
with
a
liking
for
speaking.

I’m
a
Marathi
girl
speaking
Hindi.
Unlike
Ranaji,
it’s
not
my
mother
tongue.

Are
people
still

fida
over
that
million-dollar
smile?

(Laughs)
Yes,
of
course!