Filmmaker Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies opened to exceptionally great reviews from both the audience and the critics on 1 March. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Srivastav, and Savita Malviya in the lead roles, the film is set somewhere in rural India in 2001. It follows two young brides who get lost on a train, leading to a funny and poignant exploration of womanhood and life's complexities.
Following the film's release, The Quint caught up with Rao to speak to her about the film, her opinion on patriarchy, and more.
Speaking about patriarchy in rural and urban India, Rao said, "I don't think being rural or urban necessarily changes the experience of women, the safety of women in their workplace, or their participation in the workforce. I think it basically comes down to society and the way families and communities respond to women. In many kinds of communities, women are just not permitted the choice to study further, to go out and earn a livelihood, to not be married if they don't want to, or to not have children if they don't want to."
"I think even in many, many urban scenarios, on the one hand, there is a lot of talk of patriarchy. On the other hand, it feels like things are very different. But when it comes down to the family unit, there are pressures on a woman that I think the majority of women face, especially when it comes to performing defined roles within a household. Interestingly, when you go across urban India, especially in a metropolis like Mumbai, you'll find a lot more working women who are actually keeping their families going and are the primary breadwinners for their families. But they're still expected to do everything else as well. They're expected to raise their children, to look after the home, and to look after the husband. It's a bit of a conundrum. I mean, either women are expected to do everything or they're not allowed to do what they really want to do," she added.
Speaking about Laapataa Ladies, Rao further added:
"You know, women actually work within a certain parameter that's assigned to them. A dairah (boundary) that is put around their potential. And that dairah is often not very, very stated. It's also conditioning that comes from generations that, oh, you can't really do these things. I shouldn't. It's not okay to do various things. And you feel like you're making a choice. But actually, that choice has been made for you through condition. I mean, the idea is really for every human, not just women, but I'm sure lots of men have to do things that they don't like to do and are not their choice. And I think every human deserves that. As society, we must enable that."
Watch the video for more.
Video Editor: Arnab Chakravorty
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)