What brought Megha Ramaswamy to the world of cinema was her desire to be a novelist, poet and a musician all at the same time. Exposed to the rich world of cinema since an early age, 37-year-old Megha thought it was the best medium to meld all these three forms. Armed with degrees in filmmaking and screenplay writing from Pune University and FTII, respectively, it wasn’t difficult for Megha to make a mark with the script of Bejoy Nambiar’s movie Shaitan, which she wrote when she was barely 26.
After a very violent and gory debut, she thought of showing the more colourful, vibrant and gentler side of youth and teens, which is consumed by colours. After two award-winning shorts — Newborns (2014) and Bunny (2015) — that premiered at Toronto Film Festival, Megha is back with a coming-of-age feature What Are The Odds? that premiered at IFFLA and enjoyed a successful run at the global festival circuits.
Starring Yashaswini Dayama, Karanvir Malhotra along with Abhay Deol, Monica Dogra, Priyanka Bose and Manu Rishi, it released on Netflix on May 20 and is now trending at No 2. The film has received an incredibly popular response across the globe with fans inundating social media with artwork based on the film and its characters. We had a chat with the director about the film and more. Excerpts:
How has the journey been from starting out as a screenplay writer for Shaitan to making films?
It has been a meaningful journey — from writing films to making them, eventually. The beauty of cinema is that there is room for everyone, from the world of gangsters and goons to quirky little teenagers. Though I started out with a very violent genre, it’s not me anymore and I don’t believe in perpetuating and glorifying violence. Films shouldn’t be plunging youth in blood and gore and cynicism alone. As a filmmaker, I love embracing colours and create frames that make young women shine in cinema with all their naturalness, pimples, body hair and even menstrual blood.
What Are The Odds? is already trending at No 2 on Netflix India.
It’s a great feeling. It’s trending against giants and that’s a huge thing for us since we didn’t expect this kind of response. There are no well-groomed superstar kids with gym-toned bodies, in the film which is non-conformist and non-traditional but has sentimental values.
.jpg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
How was it working with Abhay Deol?
He is a very good collaborator and an absolute force for backing a female-centric children’s musical.
Are there any other films you are working on?
Yes, Reshma Shera, which is a children’s film produced by Jar Pictures. It’s a love story between a dog and a nine-year-old. I want to go back to my roots and work with non-actors this time. Once the pandemic is over, we will begin the pre-production work.
sharmishtha.g@newindianexpress.com
@sharmidas