Gender doesn’t define you as a director: Nandita Das

Nandita Das is busy with her next directorial venture, Manto. And apparently, when a woman directs a film it becomes a talking point in the media, which surprises Nandita.

Speaking on the subject, she says, “You are first a director and then you happen to be a woman. When a male directs a film, does he think how it feels to be a male director? No, right? I am a woman who is a director as well.”

However, being a woman “must have influenced” the way she tells a story, says Nandita, adding, “Also, I have had other influences such as growing up in Delhi, my friends and family. Your gender plays an influential role, but when you are directing you are not constantly thinking that you are a woman. The gender isn’t the only thing that defines you as a director.”

Nandita recently showcased Manto at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where she was accompained by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Rasika Duggal, who star in the film.

Further, in her attempt to explain why she doesn’t agree with the term “woman director”, she says, “I guess, because there are few and far between women working behind the camera, it becomes a talking point.”

Your gender plays an influential role, but when you are directing you are not constantly thinking that you are a woman. NANDITA DAS, ACTOR-DIRECTOR