Kiran Rao: I Am More Involved With Azad Than Aamir Is

In an exclusive interview with SpotboyE, Kiran Rao opens up about helming Mumbai Film Festival, juggling work and motherhood, and the one doomed project that makes her feel 'robbed'. Excerpts...

How did you react when news broke that you'd be taking over as chairperson of the Mumbai Film Festival from legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal?
It was a bolt out of the blue, it took a lot of time to register. Then I was told that it was Mr. Benegal himself who wanted us to continue. The enormity of what Anupama Chopra and I had undertaken was only understood a few weeks into the announcement. I was anxious as well as wary of what I had gotten myself into! I knew just one thing: If we'd taken it on, we had to do something great. Had it not been for Anu as the festival director, a lot of us would have felt much more compromised.

You are a mother, film producer and the chairperson of Mumbai's only film festival. How do you juggle so many responsibilities?
I am still figuring the art of time management. The biggest casualty of all these tasks is my writing - I haven't been able to write my second film, yet. At the same time, these responsibilities have given me a lot of pleasure, as I've grown immensely. It feels nice when people look up to you and trust you to pull these things off.

Has the writing been ignored also because you are in a scattered mindscape, owing to the numerous responsibilities including raising Azad?
Ever since I've had Azad, a lot of time has gone on him. I think I am still in the process of enjoying motherhood and due to that, I've lost out on my filmmaking edge. Now, I am in a place where I can devote more time to work. The effort to write/direct has been there, but I've been too all over the place to see one thought through. Writing takes a kind of meditative effort and I'm yet to reach that place.

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As a parent, do you feel it has taken more from you than Aamir, who has been consistently working ?
It's a moot point, really! I am sure there are enough fathers out there, who are as involved with their children as the mothers are. But then Aamir is who he is. When you have a lot riding on you and when you have so many passions like he does, it gets hard. I remember during Satyamev Jayate, he used to be very tired. Then there was Dhoom 3 and PK happening almost simultaneously and he had to switch between two very different characters. It has been really hard for him, because the past few years have been the busiest in his career.

Have things become better? Does he get to be around Azad much more now?
Yes. In fact, Azad and I spent quite a lot of time on the sets of Dangal recently. He skipped school and had lots of fun. Azad has warmed up to the idea of wrestling suddenly, so when he comes home from school, all he wants to do is wrestle! We feel very reassured that the film has an audience in four-year-olds!

Your dream of institutionalising an indie film hub in Mumbai - Filmbay - didn't go as planned. You had differences with the National Film Development Corporation that led to your exit. How difficult has that been?
Heart-breaking. I am still not over it and it crushes me. Finding that space was a coup and I thought it would be a revolutionary thing for the city - sort of an ongoing film festival. I put my blood and sweat into it for three years and we'd some beautiful architectural designs. It was my idea, my venue, my designs and then I had to leave! I felt robbed. It's not easy to work when you don't have a clear idea of the money or the intention of people you are working with.

After reviving MAMI from its deathbed, what are your hopes from this baby of yours?
I think it can be a game-changer. This city deserves a great film festival and finally now, it's coming together in a way we all imagined. People are hungry for great cinema, but there's never been a proper platform. With MAMI, we intend to create a cinematic culture that will be unique to Mumbai. I feel inordinately luck to be considered worthy of the chairperson's responsibility.

How was Hansal Mehta's Aligarh finalised as the opening film?
We were very keen for the opening film to be an Indian project. We saw the film at Hansal's editing room in his office just before it was packed off to the Busan International Film Festival. We felt it was the perfect opportunity to open the fest with a film that had some curiosity around it and also spoke about a sensitive topic. I hope an Indian film opens the festival every year.

Your favourite new section at the film festival?
The experimental section! I pushed for it and told Anupama that there won't be a movie mela unless we have an experimental section.

Back to Dangal, Aamir has piled on a lot of weight. Could that become a health risk?
Not really, as there are enough overweight people who are living happily! I am closely monitoring his weight, but we've been doing it very carefully as he also has to lose the weight that he puts on. He's been doing it quite scientifically if I may say so. He's been eating a lot of things he wouldn't earlier. He's monitored by dieticians from the US. There are routine check-ups to see if his organs are functioning properly. He's a very healthy, but overweight person!

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Finally, what's your take on the Aamir-Salman spat that happened?
I don't want to add to what is being said, as I wasn't present at the party. But we need to understand that both Salman and Aamir are grown-ups. Whatever issues they had, they can sort it out among themselves.

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