Actress Arpita Chatterjee debuts as a filmmaker with docu-series, 'This Is Me'
Creativity knows no bounds when it comes to artiste Arpita Chatterjee. The talented actress, who’s also known for her singing prowess, has just debuted as a director with her first documentary series This Is Me. The series that’s streaming on OTT platform News9 Plus, showcases the LGBT community through a unique lens, showing their achievements, struggles, and beautifully weaves in other significant aspects concerning them including medical, psychological and legal issues besides delving deep into the colonial roots of homophobia and more.
We have a hearty chat with Arpita, who is firmly set on the path of filmmaking, and raring to go ahead with her second documentary project around an equally riveting topic.
Excerpts from the chat.
Tell us why you chose 'This Is Me' as your directorial debut project?
Since the very inception of my career as a model an actor, I have been aware of the LGBT community and had been fortunate to have many close friends who belonged to that community I always felt a sense of deep empathy for them and could understand that there is a deep misconception when it comes to their gender identity and sexual orientation, which perturbed me very much. This subject was always close to my heart and when the project came to me, I quite organically chose it as my directorial debut.
While shooting the same, what were the things you kept in mind to keep it unique in approach?
Honestly speaking, after watching a documentary on an OTT platform, I had a reference in mind since I liked that content and topic very much, and I thought of adopting this format and pattern.
It took quite a few months’ research before I got a clearer picture and the biggest challenge was to break it into episodes keeping the fluidity of the content in place while accommodating the many elements and aspects of the vast subject. After the research, I realised it would probably have not done justice if I bottled up each story in separate episodes. So, while shooting, I kept pursuing the real stories, asking my subjects to speak from their hearts, as if they were unburdening to their trustworthy friend, and I kept recording them behind the camera. The structuring part was done later in the post-production stage. It took two years to create what you are watching today.
How was it to be behind the camera for the first time?
I never realised it then that I am directing something for the first time. There was no preparation in the strict sense of the term and I only had a few pointers and talking heads in my mind. But I definitely wanted the lensing of the story to be very positive – it should be a story of triumph and not project anyone or any community in low esteem. Now, in hindsight, as I am watching the series, I am getting self-critical, making mental notes of what I could have done differently, and how I should apply them in my next venture.
Tell us the story behind such an impactful title track?
Yeah, it has been a wonderful collaboration with my long-time friend and associate Ratul Shankar, who has also composed for a couple of projects by others for my production house Studio9. We started talking about this and he flew down to Delhi for discussion about the mood of the show and the compositions for the title track that he sent initially were not measuring up to my expectations. Finally, when he sent a music piece, it hit the right chord in me and in the middle of the night I woke up with a particular tune from the track in my head and immediately conveyed that's how it was finalised.
What's your lesson as a filmmaker?
That I know nothing about direction. I have to learn a lot. It’s a completely new medium and I don’t have any formal training to understand the technicalities of it like cameras and lights. But what works for me is that being an artiste, I am creatively pretty strong and I can visualise things with different perspectives. And now, I am getting a hang of the technicalities too.
Are you planning to shoot a film anytime soon?
I have another documentary series in mind which will be based on another taboo and controversial subject, that we try to sweep under the carpet. It challenges the basic precincts of an opinionated and pre-conditioned society, and the depth of the subject is so enormous, that titillation is just a tiny fraction of it.
Upcoming projects?
Apart from thorough research work for my next documentary, I will also be preparing for the global debut of my much-appreciated solo theatre production, My Name Is Jaan, in Germany this September followed by a few more shows in other parts of Europe.