EXCLUSIVE | Anuparna Roy on her win as the Best Director award at the Venice International Film Festival: Rise of the suburban girl

It wasn’t an easy journey for filmmaker, Anuparna Roy. But as they say, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” She dared to live the life that she dreamt for herself. It was the fantastic rise of the suburban girl who went to government school in a village, Purulia and then studied English honours from Kulti college, again a small town near Asansol, West Bengal. She says that the moment she left her village for her higher studies, there was a sense of liberation.

Anuparna Roy made history by winning Orizzonti Award for Best Director for Anurag Kashyap-backed ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’ at Venice Film Festival. She is the first Indian filmmaker to win this award. The film is on the unspoken love of two women and not on sisterhood!

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How does it feel to be honoured at Venice?

It felt amazing the moment I received the award. It brought a lot of responsibility along with it. We received a long-standing ovation from the audience itself. The expectations were high, but I could not predict what would happen. There was a lot of doubt inside me. You can see it was a mix of everything.

How has life changed for you after this win?

People start recognising you and they start respecting your work. In my personal life, nothing much has changed, I’m still the same person trying to understand cinema and looking forward to making another film.

It’s not a film about sisterhood but about two women’s romance sharing the same flat. Can you enlighten me on that?

It’s a film about two women with different fates who fall in love with each other. And how they are unable to express their feelings and their struggles in a man-made society. It’s not a film about sisterhood at all. It’s about their romantic relationship in Bombay inside the same apartment. It’s a film that talks about two women and their feelings about each other.

Tell us about your journey from your growing up years till now. And how things have changed?

When I look back at, it all feels like a dream. After my graduation in English Literature, I started writing a lot of scripts which were very abstract and vague. The idea was always to become a writer, never a filmmaker.

Then I came to Delhi for my Master’s degree in Mass Communication and I got introduced to a lot of film students. I got to know that filmmaking is a place where I wanted to try my hands on. It definitely feels amazing when I look back- From my village school to my rural atmosphere, it was difficult to cope up with everything. The moment I left my village for my higher studies, there was a sense of liberation.

As a child, did you aspire to be a filmmaker and how supportive was your family?

Just like any other middle-class family, the idea was different. They misunderstood me when I wanted to become a filmmaker, they thought that I wanted to become an actress.  And they probably thought that was the reason why I was going to Bombay or Delhi. But I just used to write and wanted to make films. Slowly and steadily, my father realised it and my mother was also a great support. There were times when they used to force me to get married.

Back home, what’s the reaction like?

 They are all celebrating. It’s not my win, it’s a shared victory. They are waiting for me to come to Purulia. I never thought that the success that I have got today would ever happen. It’s indeed a dream come true for me.

What were your school days like? Was there any differentiation between the boys and girls in the school that you studied in Purulia?

There was gender discrimination and all those memories stayed with me and that’s why I see things differently. When I was in primary school, boys used to get books and girls used to get rice. I never liked this idea of differentiation. In my class 8th standard, they used to provide us with iron tablets which made you realize you have hit puberty.

Boys were free to do anything, and they received books and cycles. It was a government school. The most bizarre thing is that girls used to get money for their marriages but the government never used to promote education for girls. In my school free books were given to boys and girls were given a sack of rice that matched with their body weight. Isn’t it funny that everything becomes political after that?

What was your inspiration for Songs of the Forgotten Trees ?

My grandmother had a very platonic relationship with her step daughter and they both were of the same age. My grandmother was married early when she was nine- years-old with my grandfather who was 30. The moment she entered the house, she became friends with her stepdaughter. They shared meals and responsibilities and the corner of the house. It all appeared to me like a dream and turned around the bond they shared a little bit more and that was the true inspiration for Songs of the Forgotten Trees.

What was the reason you shifted to films from the IT sector?

I wanted to express myself through my films. Either filmmaking or writing was my idea to express myself. I was terrible in other art forms. This was a great medium for me. The world of cinema- commercial or Hollywood, I always wanted to be a part of it.

Your advice for girls coming from small towns?

I am not in the position to advise anyone, but I would like to say one thing that nobody should give upon their dreams. Everyone should feel the leverage that is required. Dream big and always try to come out of the comfort zone.