Kiran Rao says it hurts her when films with 'regressive messaging' make ‘hundreds of crores’

Kiran Rao, who took her film Laapataa Ladies to TIFF 2023, spoke about the success some ‘regressive’ movies have seen lately at the box office.

Filmmaker Kiran Rao has noticed how some films with highly ‘regressive’ messaging have been minting money at the box office. She confessed that this trend hurts her. In an interview with Film Companion, Kiran opened up about the responsibility of a filmmaker to 'push the needle'.

Kiran Rao is currently at the Toronto Film Festival with her film Laapata Ladies.

‘You could have pushed the needle’

Kiran did not name any film or filmmaker in particular when she said, “I suppose all filmmakers set out to make good films, the intention is often great. But so much has changed in terms of the market. The audience now has so many more options and you are reaching for all kinds of attention, when you're making a film. So I suppose, when it is a really regressive sort of messaging, and it makes hundreds of crores, it hurts. Because you had the opportunity and you could have pushed the needle in some direction and you didn't. So those are the things that sometimes bother me.”

'Every filmmaker has his own goal'

She added, “Having said that, every filmmaker has their goals and they are going to do what they do. But it would be really nice if the big films, the kind that audiences love and earn lots at the box office, were also doing some of that important work for us. Building our society in a more positive way, not stereotyping people, in fact breaking some of those regressive ideas down or in some way opening up those conversations. I am not saying that all big films are not good but it would be great if we had more success of films that have better messaging. Having said that, films are not necessarily for social change.”

Recently, films like The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story and Gadar 2 enjoyed success at the box office, but were criticised for their messaging by some sections.

Laapataa Ladies at Toronto

Kiran is currently at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with her film Laapataa Ladies. Set in 2001, in rural India, Laapataa Ladies follows the jolly mess that ensues when two young brides went missing from a train. The film boasts an ensemble cast, including Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles.

Laapataa Ladie is bankrolled by Kiran's former husband Aamir Khan’s banner Aamir Khan Production and her own venture Kindling Productions.

The screenplay and dialogues have been written by Sneha Desai while the additional dialogues have been jotted down by Divyanidhi Sharma. The film will be released on January 5, 2024.