Indian Goddess ko gussa kyun aata hai

They are not angry. The Angry Indian Goddesses in fact, are a far cry from the fierce femmes they seem to be on screen, as they settle into their chairs in our office. In an hour-long chat that covered topics ranging from men, gender stereotypes, society, films and the censor board, the girls indulged our questions and shed light on why being angry is not necessarily a bad thing and how getting into the shoes of angry divas has proved to be therapeutic for each one of them.

It’s not intended to be a strong feminist statement either, the girls tell us. It is rather, a mirror to regular Indian women—ironically a rare subject touched upon on the Indian big screen, as most either cater to love-struck Juliets, stereotypically feminine girls-next-door or everything in between.

Presenting for the first time, a bunch of non-conformist women in Pan Nalin’s film that opened to theatres across the country on Friday. Read on to know what they are all about...

Which stereotypes about women are you bothered most by Anushka Manchanda: I hate men with double standards. You know, when they won’t their girlfriends wear certain kinds of clothe, but ogle at other women who wear shorts or backless dresses.

Sarah Jane Dais: I don’t like it when men blame it on a woman’s ‘PMS’ problems if things go wrong. Tanishtha Chatterjee: I hate it when men generalise. Like when they assume that a car parked in a bad fashion may have had a female driver.

Sandhya Mridul: I don’t like it when men don’t hear me out. Sometimes all you want to do is vent out to another person without expecting an advice or suggestion. Just hear me out!

Is the film a strong feminist statement Sarah: I don’t think the film is trying to say anything. There is no one particular word that can define the film. A title of the film is a title of the film; it doesn’t cover what happens in it.

Pavleen: I don’t think any film has presented a normal Indian lady—they either only talk about boys and make-up or are shown to be on the other end of the spectrum. We are shown to be regular girls who eat, drink and talk about everything under the sun.

We discussed our deepest, darkest secrets with each other in the first 10 days of the shoot and it was very difficult, but it has made our bond very strong and it is evident on screen.

How did the angry goddesses come together Sarah: We were told that the film is supposed to be a retreat and we thought to ourselves that everybody has time for a holiday. During the first meeting with the director, it was very clear that it is going to be different. So it wasn’t like a regular audition. They wanted to hear more about us and the experiences we have had. Sandhya: Nalin wanted the exact women that he had in mind for the film because he was looking for women with some fire in their belly. Instead of sending a casting letter saying that you are ‘confirmed for the role’, we got an invitation to come to Goa for an actors’ retreat. They were not sure of the number of women they wanted, but they were quite sure what they wanted in terms of the characters — thy were sketched out. Each one is extremely distinct. We were made to write down our own character traits and they were discussed.

Tannishtha: It was unlike any other film. We didn’t have call sheets or claps. Nalin would throw us into improvisations and we would respond in our characters. We all had done our workshops and research of our characters. Cinema is going towards that direction where things are so real that you feel that a documentary is being shot. Here we were recreating reality; we didn’t feel that we were acting or there were cameras around. That allowed us to dig deep into our own emotions, biases and insecurities, so it was therapeutic. Pavleen: Our characters were under progress in the entire film. As the events were unfolding, our characters were growing.

How did the censor board react to the film Anushka: When you create something —whether it’s a movie or a song; it becomes a part of you. And then when someone else comes and says something negative about it or asks you to change it, it is offensive. So yes we are all hurt that the board has suggested omissions. It’s very disheartening, when you put in so much effort into doing something and it is simply disregarded. Sandhya: There were no cuts, but mutes and blurs, which are quite unnecessary because we have got an ‘A’ certificate. Once you have given us an ‘A’ certificate, what the hell is all this It’s absolutely illogical but then, there is lack of logic where this comes from. Tannishtha: I think as creative people, we have been fighting this since too many years now. It’s high time that we stop comparing ourselves with regressive countries with creative freedom. We claim ourselves to be liberal democracies, so we should compare ourselves with other liberal democracies and see how censorship works there—they is no censorship, but certification.

Why are goddesses angry Sarah: Anger is not necessarily a negative emotion; it is how you choose to express it that could be negative. You are angry because you are moved; you want something to change because you care about it. Sandhya: Anger is one thing that will bring about positive change. If you weren’t angry about anything, then there would be complete apathy. It is a force that pushes you to do things.

It was a working title and the makers weren’t sure about it, they even considered keeping it ‘goddesses’. But every time somebody mentioned the working title, we were more convinced to keep it. It isn’t being viewed as a commercial film Sarah: The film is a mirror of the present happenings. We all have our negative sides. We are just being true to our real lives. I think that the industry is divided into creative people and businessmen. We have had nothing but support from the creative people. Unfortunately in our country, success and failure is dependent on how much money it makes and not upon what creative people say.

Sandhya: You have no idea what we have gone through to get this film out. Every man in power should watch the film. If people put their money where their mouth is and fill us up this weekend, then we can definitely make a change. About the commercial bit, any film that doesn’t have stars is supposed to be an art film and can’t be commercial. When I was doing Page 3 with Konkana, it was an art film then it became a huge commercial success and it became a commercial film. We are crossing that line and pushing the envelope, we are getting there.