After winning accolades at global festivals Rohena Gera's debut feature, Sir (Indian title, Is Love Enough? Sir) is gearing up for pan-India release on March 20. Starring the talented actors Tilottama Shome and Vivek Gomber this film has travelled to over 45 festivals across the world, winning 16 awards and has been released theatrically in about 30 countries, securing its place among the top five highest-grossing Indian films ever released in France.
Sir had its World Premiere at the 71st International Cannes Film Festival, in the critics' week competition section, making Rohena Gera the first woman filmmaker to bag Gan Foundation Award for distribution.
Produced by Inkpot Films and co-produced by Ciné-Sud Promotion, the film is about a Marathi widowed domestic worker played by Tillotama Shome, who finds a complicated romantic spark with her recently single employer Ashwin (Vivek Gomber) who’s just returned from the US after breaking off his engagement.
“The film is about fighting for a dream, and the film has become my dream come true. To have my first film in Cannes, and then to have it travel around the world from Brazil to Japan to Hungary to Israel… it’s beyond what I would have dared to dream. But that said, I made the film for India. It is an Indian story, it is about us," says Rohena Gera, the writer, director and producer of the film.
Tillotama Shome who plays Ratna, the Marathi domestic help in the film, is equally excited about the film's release. “It was a wonderful challenge to bring to life the delicate negotiations within Rohena's script with co-actors Vivek Gomber and Geetanjali Kulkarni. The subject is so delicate that it was extremely nerve-racking and yet it is also what made it so rewarding. I had to learn Marathi for a few scenes. The effort to learn the language made me fall in love with Bombay a little more," tells the fine actor, whose work in Goutam Ghose's Raahgir is also earning her appreciation from all corners.
The film shows that although Ashwin seems to have it all, Ratna can sense that he has given up on his dreams and is somewhat lost. On the other hand, Ratna who seems to have nothing is full of hope and works determinedly towards her dream. As these two worlds collide and the two individuals connect, the barriers between them seem only more insurmountable.
“We all believe in love but can we love across class? And if we can, how far can we take it? How far are we willing to fight the system, the prejudices? This film is about love, this film is about us with all our good and bad,” tells Tillotama while commenting about the theme of the film.
"For me, all the accolades go to the two women, Rohena for allowing me to be a part of the film, shaping my performance and Tillotama for being a great co-actor so that Rohena could extract that performance out of me. I hope the audience watches the film and likes it," tells Vivek Gomber.