Indian Cinematographer Modhura Palit At Cannes

Brut India

“India doesn’t take its serious films, seriously,” says cinematographer Modhura Palit who won a special award at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.  She spoke to Brut about how her job is gendered and why she advises women in her profession to ‘war it out’.

Transcript

00:00Hi, this is Madhura Palit for Brute.

00:22Being here suddenly, it's kind of overwhelming.

00:25It's a little bit scary, I'm petrified, but it's amazing.

00:55The problem where it lies, I believe, is India doesn't take its serious films seriously.

01:10There are good films which can come to a festival like this,

01:15but then I don't think there's an initiative to send it here.

01:20So we have to, I think, stop being selfish and propagate and promote films.

01:27And that also is the responsibility of the audience to help out, not only for the authority.

01:39I always knew that something like becoming a doctor or engineer or doing a white-collar job is not for me.

01:46That I knew.

01:47And then I had my parents who are art photographers.

01:49So I had that thing of exposure, film stock, developing in the house always since growing up.

01:56So somehow the germ was there inside me, I guess.

02:04There's a lot of times when I've gone for a meeting with the executive producers

02:09and they have spoken to me after two, three minutes

02:12and I realize they're talking to me about something completely different

02:15that has nothing to do with what I'm doing.

02:17And I would be like, I'm here for the DOP thing.

02:21And they'd be like, oh, I thought you're the costume AD.

02:26So that keeps on happening.

02:28Whenever you're a technical person working in the industry, especially in India,

02:34you face a lot of things.

02:37There is always gendering of a certain job that comes across.

02:42Like cinematography somehow is a male job.

02:46The job itself is gendered.

02:48It's picturized as huge men, brawny men shooting with huge, large cameras.

02:56So the obstacles I face are like this.

02:59My obstacle is always trying to reach the floor

03:02because I know if I have the floor, then nobody can complain.

03:06Then it's completely under my control.

03:08But the cynicism, the skepticism, the hypocrisy that I face before reaching that

03:13is where all the struggle is.

03:15Once you're on the floor, then it's my ballgame.

03:17Then I am the king. I know it. I can do it.

03:24I completely believe women should worry about it

03:27because there is a problem is there's always a cynicism that comes first.

03:32Nobody looks at your craft at the first glance.

03:36They first look at what are you.

03:38Are you a male? Are you a female?

03:39Are you six feet? Are you five feet?

03:41Do you weigh 80 kgs or do you weigh less than that?

03:45The problem is there.

03:46Nobody asks, can you light it up?

03:48Do you know how to use this camera?

03:50Do you know how this camera functions?

03:52Nobody asks that.

03:53Everybody asks, can you lift up a camera?

03:55Lifting up the camera is not the only thing that a DOP does, right?

04:03It's a crazy time happening.

04:04There is a different dynamics of everything that happens.

04:08At the end of the day, I hope India as a nation wins

04:11and nothing else.

04:13That we all stay together, be happy and support each other

04:16and there is more of love and less of hate.

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