Let us talk about the film. What was the beginning of making a film on a Devadasi?
When I decided to make the film, I tried to put myself into three people's shoes. One is as a viewer, the second is as a filmmaker and the third is as a contemporary Indian woman.
As I was working for the Ford Foundation, I used to travel a lot -- both in India and abroad -- I felt most of what we are today is borrowed. What we have to offer to the world is our culture, which we have not only forgotten but have traumatised as well. I am quite attached to my culture and culture has nothing to do with fascism or ideology.
When I started getting troubled about the incompleteness of feminism and the complete absence of culture, I began to feel troubled. The first images that haunted me were the women who were connected with art, women like Brinda, Bala Saraswathi, MS Subbalakshmi, etc.
The idea of the film struck in the process of elimination. The most obvious feminist is a Devadasi. They are the most outstanding examples of women who use their art as a weapon, and that is their only weapon for their own emancipation. The story exemplifies feminism, womanhood and emancipation, which was present even 100 years ago.
Also read: On the sets of Anjali
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