‘Raw deal in films’: Kavitha Lankesh

Sanjay R Murty | NT

Women film directors are not getting the encouragement from movie producers in Sandalwood. “Though I won a national award for my maiden movie, I am yet to get producers to make bigbudget movies. They expect me to make films with a minimum budget. We can reduce the quantity of rice by one kg for cooking but cannot make a film with a small budget,” said Kavitha Lankesh.

She expressed concern over the stereotyping of women in movies. Kavitha recalled how a complaint from an actress has emboldened many actresses to come out with their problems, especially sexual harassment in the film industry.

She raised the issue of ‘casting couch’ and said, “Many women, especially from small towns, are in a vulnerable position.” Narrating an anecdote from her late father’s career as a prominent journalist, she expressed concern about the state of free speech in India. “As we witness threats being posed to independent journalism, I hope that News Trail succeeds in upholding the values of journalism,” she said.