How Manasi Parekh is changing Gujarati films with bold female characters

Khaleej Times

5 hours ago

'For a long time, Gujarati cinema catered to a loyal regional audience narrating stories and legends from the heartland. Over the last decade and more, the industry that contributed immensely to Bollywood turned its attention inward to its own wealth of talent and filmmaking - modernising it with the times and telling stories of today,' says actor, singer and producer Manasi Parekh whose film 'Kutch Express' won three National awards.
Parekh was in Dubai for the premiere of her recent film 'Shubhchintak,' a revenge drama. 'Traditionally, it is always the angry young man who takes revenge when he is wronged. My film has a woman who taps into her dark side and avenges her perpetrators,' says Manasi.
Often women have been portrayed in long suffering, sacrificial sub-roles with the men taking centre stage. 'As a woman producer I am particular about the way my film talks to the audience. Not just the main female character only, but each woman character in the films I create, has agency and reveals her strength. This is to not to state that men are sidelined. They are integral to the script but the envelope is pushed keeping progressive thought in mind,' she adds.
Her creative partner and husband Parthiv Gohil backs her every move. 'He is a such a feminist and supports everything I do," she says. "I make the film and he sells it.'
Her filmography includes 4 films - 'Gorkeri', 'Kutch Express', 'Jhamkudi' and 'Shubhchintak', with women characters central to them. 'Actors usually complain that they don't get women backed roles and so, I decided to create them,' she says. While making Kutch Express, she was asked who will watch a film with two rural women Ratna Pathak Shah and her enacting the main roles. 'But we were convinced and went ahead. It won us three awards,' she laughs.
Her film 'Jhamkudi' is a horror comedy, has the evil spirit played by a woman. 'It has a feminist ideology. My kind of cinema has to make you think apart from entertaining,' she adds. Also, Manasi is keen that her daughter grows up on a diet of cinema where the woman is seen bashing up goons too and not cowering behind the man who is protecting her.
The women of Gujarat have agency. 'I have had strong women in my family adept at running households and businesses, but I rarely saw that onscreen. So I am making them.' she says.
Mansi's next film is a love story that tackles ageism and romance of a single mother, who falls in love with a younger man who is a photographer. 'We need to talk about stories that are around us and not just play safe,' she states.
How does regional cinema hold its own space with Bollywood looming large? 'Regional cinema is rooted in its location, language and ethos. It might have a smaller audience but a well-told story, cuts through geographical and linguistic boundaries. Look at Malayalam cinema today. Hasn't it created a niche apart from Bollywood. Gujarati cinema can do it too, so can other regional cinemas.
'Also, Bollywood films cater to larger audiences and plateaus in its presentation because it has to appeal to a large number of people. Regional cinema has no such baggage.'
Another criticism that gets to her is why does she make a Gujarati film in high budgets? 'People would advise me that I could add a few more lakhs and make a Hindi movie instead. But why? I want to make a Gujarati film that is technically sound and presented well. It is my story and I want to tell it well.'
'Regional cinema has a sound ground. It has jokes from dialects only people from that region might understand, though we have English subtitles. 'Shubhchintak' for instance has a leading Marathi actor, Swapnil Joshi, in the lead. He speaks excellent Gujarati and was perfect for the inspector's role in my film,' says Manasi. She is fluent in Marathi and is keen to do a Marathi film too.
'We are seeking to make good films. They might be rough at the edges and not as white washed as Bollywood, but therein lies its beauty,' she adds.
Also, Manasi is keen that female actors in her film will not be there for cosmetic reasons only. 'Scripts are being written in Gujarati cinema with people like me in mind. May the breed of such scripts grow and we get to narrate such stories,' she states.
Usually in mainstream films, a hero dances, sings, fights, does comedy and action. 'I have done it in my films. If a male lead can do it, so can a female.'