Tanuja laments exclusion of the elderly in films and in life
It is tragic that society has come to believe that old people are of less value or they have nothing of value to contribute to society. I think it is the opposite. An old person has so much experience. And how is that experience of no value? TANUJA CHANDRA
FILMMAKER
Filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, the director of films such as Sangharsh (1999), Tamanna (1998), and Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017), says it bothers her that the world as well as cinema abandons people after they attain a certain age.
“Storytelling is largely geared towards the youth because that is supposed to be the target audience so everyone wants to please that demographic. But even otherwise, the world is geared towards the youth,” she says, adding, “It is tragic that society has come to believe that old people are of less value or they have nothing of value to contribute to society. I think it is the opposite. An old person has so much experience and how is that experience of no value? It is sad that this happens.”
A life full of lived experience is of great value in what it can teach us, adds Tanuja, who has made a documentary on her two aunts. In the documentary, titled Aunty Sudha, Aunty Radha, Tanuja captures how her two aunts, currently in their 80s and 90s, are spending their sunset years peacefully in a village in Uttar Pradesh.
“It talks about death, illness, ageism, being alone... But all these issues are spoken of in a light manner. They are not going crazy and obsessive about it. These two women are taking things in their stride. We all are going to face death someday,” Tanuja shares.
Tanuja had been toying with the idea of making the film for a while. She said she ended up shooting the film in a week last year when she visited their place for the first time, something that had been long due, as the 50-year-old says in the trailer.
“They were full of stories and humour. For me, it is always a personal reason to do a story. In this case, it was a personal relationship which I got into a documentary,” the filmmaker says.