Mumbai: Deepti Naval has just created history. She managed to turn a Bengali film into Hindi!
Bengali director Sanjoy Nag, who has completed ‘Memories In March’ featuring Deepti Naval as a bereaved mother and director-turned-actor Rituparno Ghosh as her dead son`s gay lover, had originally planned the film in Bengali.
‘Memories In March’ is set in Kolkata and the entire team was comfortable in Bengali.
But when Deepti landed on location in Kolkata her Bengali proved to be more problematic than the team, including Rituparno who has scripted the film, thought it would be.
Stuck with a linguistic deadlock, director Nag and writer Rituparno took a flash decision and ‘Memories In March’ became the first film in the history of Indian cinema to change language for the sake of its leading lady.
Laughs Deepti, "The Bengali language proved to be more problematic than I thought it would be. I thought my performance would suffer if I kept focusing on the lines. Sanjoy and Ritu suggested that we do the film in Hindi."
" `Better that we try to speak in Hindi than you in Bengali,` Rituparno said. And why not? `Memories in March` in Hindi has a bigger audience. It`s a film that has to be seen by as many people as possible," Deepti said.
In the film Deepti plays a mother who, after her son`s sudden death, discovers his alternative sex life.
A lot of eyebrows are bound to be raised since Deepti`s own directorial debut film ‘Do Paise Ki Dhoop Chaar Aane Ki Baarish’ also features a gay protagonist.
Is Deepti turning into a champion for the gay community?
She protests.
"It isn`t as if I purposely decided to direct a film about a gay protagonist and then act in one where my co-star plays a gay character. Their sexuality is not the point. The point is the intolerance in our society in context to what is seen to be unacceptable."
"Why can`t we accept homosexuality as a normal condition, and move on? What I really liked about my character in `Memories In March` is that she`s a woman who undertakes a journey into discovering some hard facts about her son. This is a journey that many parents in our country need to take," she said.
Deepti Naval, who has not been on screen for some years (her last important release was ‘Freaky Chakra’ in 2003) is happy to be back.
"I play a woman who doesn`t show her emotions to others even when faced with such a terrible tragedy. Rituparno Ghosh is such a fine actor and a truly formidable co-star. I don`t think the language would take away from the drama. In fact, I don`t play a Bengali woman. I play a woman from Delhi who is an art curator," the actress said.
Deepti`s deep empathy for her part as the bereaved mother comes from her own past experiences. Personal loss, she says, is a great incentive for an actor.
"I`ve faced it," she ends.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.