Sona Mohapatra says all her savings went into Shut Up Sona, then pandemic curbed her means of income

Sona Mohapatra said that she exhausted her saving in producing the documentary Shut Up Sona. Soon after, the pandemic curbed everyone’s means of income.

Singer Sona Mohapatra, in a new tweet, talked about using up all her savings in producing the documentary Shut Up Sona. She said that soon after, the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the world, and left her with ‘no means of income’.

Sona Mohapatra turned producer for Shut Up Sona.

On Monday, Sona shared a happy selfie on Twitter and wrote, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.. making happy whenever I can. My film #ShutUpSona is yet travelling to places around the world & winning festivals.All my savings went into this film, just before the pandemic broke & stopped us in our tracks with no means of income.”

Directed by Deepti Gupta, Shut Up Sona gives an intimate glimpse into Sona’s life. Earlier in the day, the singer announced that the film has been nominated for an award at the upcoming New York Indian Film Festival. “Official selection & Nomination for Best #documentaryfilm at the @nyindianff 2022,” she wrote on Twitter.

In an interview with Hindustan Times last year, Sona talked about what prompted her to produce a film on herself. “I am just the medium in the film, it’s a universal story told from the eyes of a female artist,” she said. “What made me want to produce this film? Well, I don’t think anybody else would have to start with, on a lighter note,” she joked.

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Sona said that in 2017, she found herself ‘in a corner’. “I felt the opportunities for female artists were getting smaller and smaller over the years. Out of 100-odd songs that would release in the mainstream, not even seven or eight would have a female voice with enough lines even in a romantic duet. Somehow, things are just not stacked up to help women to create big artist brands in India,” she said.

“One is for me to sit around and complain about it, but I am not one of them. It’s time to take charge of my own narrative and my own destiny, so to say, and marry all my love - for travel, storytelling, music and expression. So, 300 hours of footage, three years of shoot and Shut Up Sona came to being,” she added.