Don’t believe in the term woman-centric film: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

Kolkata, Feb 11 (PTI) Filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury says he doesn’t relate with the phrase “women-centric” as he believes a character’s arc solely depends on the story.

The director, who earlier made the critically-acclaimed 2016 movie “Pink” with Taapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bachchan and has directed critically-acclaimed Bengali films such as “Anuranan” and “Antaheen”, said his aim is to extract real life emotions for his characters and make it “as authentic as possible”.

“It is not about women everywhere but what the film and the story demands. So it can be Taapsee Pannu in ‘Pink’ or Yami Gautam in ‘Lost’. I don’t believe in the term woman-centric. Whatever I am doing, a woman is also doing the same thing. We are equals,” Roy Chowdhury told PTI in an interview.

“But in my films, my female characters have strength in their minds. They are showing their love, affection and integrity in some way,” he added.

His latest movie “Lost” is an investigative thriller, featuring Gautam as a crime reporter in a relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

The filmmaker praised Gautam for her performance in the movie, which will debut on streaming service ZEE5 on February 16.

“No one could portray the role the way Yami did. She is awesome, she is outstanding, once you see the film you will realise how apt her characterisation is,” he said.

The filmmaker said it doesn’t bother him whether his film is releasing on OTT or in theatres.

A storyteller has to keep up with the changing times, he added.

“I shoot for the big screen because I am a filmmaker. I want to make it larger, so everyone can watch it on a big screen, in the hall. But now it (‘Lost’) is going on OTT, and a huge number of audiences are going to watch it, it will go to 190 countries. I am lucky.

“Time has changed. So you have to modify yourself with time and I will be happy if one day it gets released in both theatres and OTT. That is my dream.”

The director said he was toying with different ideas when a friend suggested him to make a film on the life of a crime reporter.

“A friend of mine came up with this idea and she motivated me. We sat down to write the story. When the atmosphere is around, when everything is around, you have to get it right, you create the situations.”

Roy Chowdhury debuted as filmmaker with 2006 Bengali movie “Anuranan” and over the course of his career, he made his hallmark as a sensitive portrayer of human emotion and relationships.

With every movie, the director said he ensures that all the characters are rooted in reality.

“I have made seven films till this date and every character I have etched out, I know and I have seen somewhere.”

Post “Lost”, the filmmaker said he is toying with an idea for a Bengali feature.

“I will try to make a Bengali film this year, a story on urban relationships. We are working on the script,” he said.

Roy Chowdhury is also happy about the success of several Bengali movies that hit the theatres in the past few months.

“Films like ‘Aparajito’, ‘Projapoti’, ‘Tonic’ and many others worked so well. If you make good films, the audience will come to the halls, they will find a film with rich content. good execution. A good product will undoubtedly draw audiences.

“And after the COVID situation, when halls were closed down and incurred losses, the present situation is good for industry and directors, in fact good for every stakeholder.” PTI SUS RB BK