Tahira Kashyap: I’m not going to get bogged down by the pressure to move away from stories around women

Filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurana is committed to telling stories about women, despite being judged for it. She has directed several short films and recently finished shooting her first feature film, Sharmaji Ki Beti. Tahira believes there is a need for more women writers and directors to push for greater representation of women on-screen, and she is encouraging other women to make more films.

Filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurana finds comfort in telling stories with stokers of myriad hues of womanhood, and she reveals that there are people who judge her for telling stories around women. But, she has decided to ignore all such noise.

Tahira Kashyap made her first short film Toffee in 2017

Tahira made her first short film Toffee in 2017, with the help of her husband, actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who served as the producer on the project Following the success of Toffee, she directed two more shorts – Pinni, which is part of the anthology series Zindagi In Short, and Quaranteen Crush for anthology series Feels Like Ishq. She has also finished shooting for her first feature film Sharmaji Ki Beti.

“There are so many stories that I want to tell. A lot of people come upto me and sya, ‘tum toh sirf ladkiyun ke baare mein likhti ho aur bolti ho’. But I feel we have not seen enough stories talking about various aspects of womanhood. So, no matter how many female-centric stories I tell, I feel it is less,” says Tahira.

The 40-year-old adds, “I am not going to get bogged down by this pressure of moving away from something that I’m naturally gravitated towards. At the same time, my tone comes with humour, no matter what genre it is, which is an added benefit.”

Talking about lack of portrayal of women on-screen, the filmmaker notes that it’s not just black and white and there are so many shades that a woman has. “Look at the male characters… They make them well rounded, with many layers and complexities. That is why they come out beautifully. I don’t see the same happening with women characters. For instance, Joker and Dark Knight are the biggest examples,” she explains, adding, “When we see such roles, there are so many emotions which we feel for a single character in a single movie. It is the beauty of writing. They have so many layers, complexities and baggage. But women are just plain.”

Tahira feels there is a need to push for more women writers as well as directors.

“We have to push the envelope for women filmmakers. Gone are the days when there was this stereotype that a woman is pulling down another woman. That is not the truth. Hum aise nahi hai. For instance, I am directing a film, but I’m pushing other women directors to please come forward and make more films. Similarly, other people are pulling each other up. This stereotype needs to beak,” ends the mother of two.