Monday, 27 September 2021 | Khushbu Kirti
We no longer are seeking validation from the West because we know where we stand, says Ananya Sengupta in a candid conversation with Khushbu Kirti
Friedrich Nietzsche had once said, “He who fights his own demons, must take care he doesn’t become one.” Enigma — The Fallen Angel, an award winning short-film, explores exactly this — the dark, hidden recesses of the mind. It revolves around the inter-mingled lives of Richa and Myra. Besides winning innumerable awards at festivals, the short film qualified for the Oscars and will be screened in November in LA.
Actress Ananya Sengupta recently won two consecutive international film awards for the category of ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her short-films Enigma — The Fallen Angel and Silver Gandhi at Port Blair International Film festival and Golden Sparrow International Film festival, respectively.
Read on for excerpts of the interview:
Your latest short film Enigma- The Fallen Angel has won widespread acclaim. Give us an overview of the film.
Firstly, I’m so glad for the interview. I do not think I’ve achieved much to deserve this (laughs heartily). Previously, I was a model and I didn’t feel proud of myself for the same, because you’re doing what other people are telling you to do and it is not like you are exhibiting your talent in it. It didn’t seem consistent and I was not invested in it. Modelling is about posing, looking good and thin. You do not have much work. So, at the moment, I’m doing a couple of short films, and Telugu films to showcase my acting skills. They were doing festival rounds and, luckily, one of my short-films has been spotted.
Enigma- The Fallen Angel has been made by a production called Dreamcatchers who are based in Pune. They are super passionate filmmakers. The trailer of the film itself looks so international because of the way that they have made it. So, this film is about a girl who has schizophrenia, hallucinates, and lives in her own world. She, then, returns to reality and realises that the world is still sad. It has a supernatural air to it and since the duration of the film is hardly 30 minutes, I’ll leave it to the audience to watch it. I am proud of the film and the journey and I see these things that I am doing right now as stepping stones to what I actually wish to achieve.
And what is it that you wish to achieve?
My plan is to do mainstream cinema and movies. Being a newcomer, when you don’t have a back-up, and people always want to know what you’ve done. They want to cast you on the basis of your profile. I do not come from a film background, and so I cannot say I’m so-and-so’s daughter or sister. I have to speak through my work. I’m trying to garner content to show to the makers. So I want to become ‘already somebody’.
The film qualified for the Oscars screening at LA in November, which is probably the highest accomplishment for a film. According to you, why aren’t more people talking about it?
Yes, I understand that not many people have recognised it but people are noticing it in the Marathi film industry. We have plans to take it ahead with press releases and bytes soon. But, honestly, I have seen people get confused between nomination and qualification when it comes to Oscars. We have been qualified for the screening, which is a big deal in itself, and I’m hoping gradually more spectators will notice.
Films making a mark internationally, are we still looking for validation from the west?
I think we are always trying to do that. I remember Aamir Khan trying hard for Lagaan to get that credit in the West but couldn’t exactly receive it. I remember Aishwarya Rai doing Pink Panther, but she couldn’t last long either. She is the absolute queen and we all love her but it still did not work. Others have attempted to send their films for Oscars, too. This may have certainly happened in the past, but I do not think we’re doing that anymore because I would like to believe we are now aware where we stand.
You won the best actress award, at Port Blair Film Festival, for this particular role. We’re excited to know about your character in the film. How did you relate with it?
I am playing the role of the ‘mystery girl’ in Enigma. The film belongs to the supernatural genre so I’m not sure if the audience will relate to my character, unless you watch it twice. I’m not trying to be greedy here but I feel it’s just one of those films that you gotta watch twice to understand well.
What, according to you, is the USP of the short film? Why should more people watch it?
I think everyone has a different perception and there would be numerous USPs when it comes to different opinions. Personally, I feel if a film clicks with you, it just does. That’s what I look for and appreciate when I watch cinema. For this one, particularly, the content is very different. It is dreamy and fantastical. It is, altogether, a different world.
You have a line-up of diverse films — a Marathi web-series called Highdose and a Telugu film called Madrasi Gang. Tell us about the films.
I’m doing two Telugu films, one is Madrasi Gang and the second one is untitled. The former is a trilingual film (Telugu, Tamil and Hindi) and it is about groupism. Everyone wishes to become the ruler of the gang. It is based in Mumbai and also revolves around this Maharashtran girl from Dadar who has grown up in slums. There are cops and gangs involved. It is quite an interesting story. It is produced under the banner of SN Reddy and directed by Ajay Andrews, and features Ashmit Patel, Adhyayan Suman and Ranga Jinu.
In the untitled film, my role is opposite Naveen Chandra. The film is directed by Srinivasa Raju. They’re commercial mainstream films and I’m very excited for both.
You seem to play diverse roles in various languages. Is it difficult to shift from one to another, more so because of the language change?
(Chuckles before proceeding) It is too difficult, it really is. I can learn Russian and Spanish but I cannot learn Tamil and Telugu, for the love of God! They are complicated but obviously, like we know, practise makes you perfect. With practise, I got better at it or, at least, I can say I could pull it off. People, surprisingly, loved my performance. I was super anxious since I did not know these languages but I’m glad it all worked out.
Can you tell us about your character in Highdose?
Yes. Highdose is a web-series directed by Marathi director Dilip Vasudev and produced by Shonali films, and is supposed to be released this year. It is being shot at a very large scale.
I am playing the character of Revati, a free-spirited young girl. She is a kind-of drug-addict and is troubled due to her past troubles caused by her parents’ separation at a very young age.
