‘Bollywood doesn’t differentiate between male, female directors’

Unlike many female directors who say that they have been treated differently from their male counterparts, director Ashwiny Iyer

Tiwari (above) of Nil Battey Sannata (2016) fame, says that no such thing exists in the film industry.

“I have never faced this issue, because I speak my mind. It is more about creating a place and respect for yourself,” says Ashwiny whose next release is Bareilly ki Barfi. “If I talk like someone who doesn’t know what she is talking about, then maybe it can [be that] people would differentiate. It’s similar to someone driving a car badly on the road, only then people see if it’s a male driver or a female one. If the car is being driven well, no one is bothered about the gender.”

“I fail to understand the whole bifurcation between the two, because what you think and how you are on the set all depends on your capabilities of directing a film. It’s also about where your interest lies. Maybe, I don’t want to direct a horror and an action film because I am not made for it,” asserts Ashwiny, who is married to Dangal (2016) director Nitesh Tiwari.

Are there any plans to co-direct a film with Nitesh in the future? “We will never co-direct because we are very different in terms of thinking. He is more structured and I am very impulsive. I am more freeflowing, when it comes to direction,” says Ashwiny adding, “But we may co-produce a film in the future.”