New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Culture and language are not a limitation for a story to resonate with others, says director Tribeni Rai, whose Nepali-language drama “Shape of Momo” is ready for its theatrical release after a fulfilling global festival run.
At the heart of the Sikkim-set story is Vishnu, a young woman who has left her job in Delhi to return home where she hopes to convince her mother and open a homestay. But her independent nature is threatened by rigid cultural and gender constraints of the place.
“It is such a personal story that when I was writing it, I did not know so many other people would resonate with it and are going through the same experience somewhere, and not just in India. Culture and language are not a limitation for that. I am so grateful to be able to take a story in my language, from my region to places and be representing our country and my state,” Rai told PTI in an interview.
“We had older ladies, younger women and even men walking up to us and saying, ‘I am that protagonist in your film’,” she added.
The film has won 15 awards internationally, including trophies at the Busan International Film Festival (South Korea) and San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spain).
Actor-producer Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media, which also backed the theatrical run of Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “All We Imagine As Light” and Rohan Kanawade’s much-lauded “Sabar Bonda”, is releasing the film in India on May 29.
“Shape of Momo” has Kapadia as well as filmmakers-producers Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar as executive producers. All three came on board after seeing what Rai has managed to achieve in her story, which has been praised for its incisive look at the way women deal with the many unwritten rules of patriarchy.
A graduate from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Rai said she went back to her village after completing her studies and that’s when she realised she wanted to make this film. It is also a way to honour her late father and her mother, who is credited as a producer on the project. “The start was my own personal experiences and the experiences of other women around me. When I grew up, I started to question why we were not as equal as men living around me. For instance, we are four daughters, and we are a house full of women. My father passed early on, so I live with my mother and I have three other sisters. We constantly grew up with fear, insecurity or the pressure to compensate for not having a son,” she said.
But while writing the movie, she realised that she needed an objective eye and that’s when filmmaker-writer Kislay came on board.
“It (my story) was filled with angst about how the world is not working for a perfect modern woman like me, and then I think he (Kislay) brought in a lot of objectivity, where we started becoming critical of her (protagonist’s) privileges as well… I was a bit scared when I kept saying that it’s a personal story. (I thought) people will judge me, but friends who know me, they know that I am one of these characters,” she added.
Momo, an important dish in every Sikkimese household and has over the years gained prominence all over the country as a street snack, serves as a metaphor for the inability of Rai’s protagonist to conform to the norms as Vishnu is not interested in mastering the dish.
Rai said through her film, she wanted to explore the layers between gender and privilege by introducing migrant labourers to the story.
“Northeast people are constantly being discriminated against in the mainland but if you come to my place, you will find another story where we discriminate against people who come from the mainland. So most of the migrant labourers who come to build roads in Sikkim are either from UP or Bihar, we discriminate against them. “When I am being critical of the society that is not functioning for me, I also have to be critical about me, like I just can’t be saying, ‘You discriminate against us in the mainland.’ But I also have to put up a mirror and say ‘we do the same here’.” “Shape of Momo” comes at a time when stories from women directors from the northeast are being recognised globally.
Rima Das’ “Village Rockstars 2”, set in Assam, and Manipuri filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi’s “Boong” have won awards at Busan and UK’s BAFTA awards, respectively.
Rai said the success of these filmmakers has empowered emerging directors like her and she hopes to achieve something similar with her work.
“I think films generally in the northeast are doing great in international film festivals. And with ‘Boong’ and ‘Village Rockstar’, which also did great in theatres, it is a great time to be making films from the region, especially as women filmmakers. I just hope when our film goes to the theatre, it opens doors for others.” The film found a champion in Kapadia after she watched the rushes during the edit. Later, Kagti and Akhtar saw the complete movie and instantly agreed to come on board as executive producers.
“It changes the whole dynamics of where the film is standing. For a film like ‘Shape of Momo’, which is in Nepali language coming from a small state of Sikkim to have these stalwarts champion and support the film like they are doing, means the world to me. I just hope that it opens more opportunities for fellow filmmakers from my region to bring stories from the margins, stories deeply rooted in their culture, in their place, and be received like this.” PTI BK RB BK BK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.