Panellists discuss how women behind camera command more respect now

The West Bengal Commission of Women stall at the International Kolkata Book Fair in Salt Lake held a discussion on ‘women behind the camera in films’.

The intriguing topic drew in a large audience. The speakers in the panel did not disappoint either.

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Filmmaker Sudeshna Roy, cinematographer Modhura Palit, costume designer Sabarni Das and docu filmmaker and editor Farah Khatoon were the panellists for the evening, who deliberated on how the industry has changed over the years and spoke from their individual experiences.

Costume designer Sabarni Das, talking about the time she stepped into the industry, said there were not many professionals in her field of costume designing. She would design costumes based on the story, script and director’s preferences.

“I have not been trained in any design school unlike the present generation, who are trained. Before I started, I heard that seasoned actors would give their preferences on what kind of clothes they would like to wear for the film. Even the directors would tell their preferences,” she said, adding, “The practice now is that I give my vision after hearing the script and then we sit with the director and the crew for the way forward.”

She pointed out that unlike many other departments under the film federations, there is no guild for costume designing.

On working with professionals, Sabarni said: “I have never faced any issues working with professionals. I have worked on many projects, where I was taken in as a consultant, while other designers were taken on board to design the costumes. There has never been any clash of ideas.”

Filmmaker Sudeshna Roy, who moderated the evening, said she joined the industry in 1994 and learnt the ropes working for different departments like art, costume, script, scheduling and others.

“I still learn new things. I’m much more technically sound than when I started and people understand that. People take me seriously now as they know I know my subject well,” said Sudeshna.

Cinematographer Modhura Palit, a graduate of SRFTI, spoke how she came to work in the industry and that her parents’ passion for cameras also rubbed on to her. She said she was very much fascinated by how light and shadow can be played up through a camera.

Modhura, who won the Pierre Angenieux ExcelLens in Cinematography at Cannes, shared she was scared of mathematics and thought that working behind the camera would allow her to be far away from the subject. But while working, she realised that she needed mathematics to learn camera work better and then she mastered the art of calculations.

Farah Khatoon, an editor and docu filmmaker wanted to be a director as she always felt she wanted to convey her feelings. She learnt editing and later made films I am Bonnie and Holy Rights, both of which fetched her National Awards.

Sudeshna and Modhura were on the same page when they talked about making films within a tight budget, a major handicap for filmmakers here. They said that filmmakers here are highly skilled as they work under tight budgets to give hits and people working behind the camera need to be applauded.

The panellists were of the opinion that more and more women are working behind the camera now and that is a healthy sign for the industry.