Renuka Shahane on animated film 'Loop Line': Wanted to write about women who can't change their lives

Time of India

3 hours ago

(Picture courtesy: Facebook)
27 Most stories about women end with them taking a big or small step towards a solution but what about those who don't have the means to change their circumstances? This question inspired
Renuka Shahane
to explore one such life in her animated film "Loop Line".
Shahane, a known name in cinema and TV right from the Doordarshan days, said she kept thinking about many housewives stuck in an endless loop of emotional and verbal abuse.
"I had this idea in my mind that when we read women's stories, in the end, they take a big or small revolutionary step to solve their problems. But what about those who never take that step or have no way out? They are stuck in a loveless marriage where they don't get any respect for their work and the mental abuse is normalised," the actor-filmmaker told PTI in an interview.
"Loop Line", an over eight-minute short, is about a middle-aged Mumbai housewife, who cooks, cleans and has no life outside the small flat that she shares with her emotionally abusive husband.
But her inner life is full of imagination that takes her places: be it romancing the screen hero that she is watching on TV or freely floating in a pond full of water lilies, a scene that instantly evokes the image of Claude Monet's famous painting.
There are moments of angst that also find a voice in her fantasies.
Shahane, who made her directorial debut with "Tribhanga" in 2021, said she initially wrote the story for the live-action format but she kept seeing the inner life of the character in animation.
"When I was writing this, I realised that the fantasies of the woman in this particular film, I could see only in animation. And then I realised that the combination of animation and live action doesn't seem right.
So I decided to make a full animation film.
"I love animation. It is such a deep art form. And I have been fascinated with it since childhood. But I don't have any background in visual arts. So this was a big step for me," she said.
It was, in fact, a giant leap for Shahane as she made a mature story in animation, a format that is mostly associated with children's stories in India.
"There is no place or institution where we are showing mature-level animation films in India.
So I knew this will be my passion project where I will invest money and I won't expect it to come back. I was adamant that I want to do this content only in animation. My animators at Paperboard Design Studio were surprised when I approached them."
Shahane is happy that artists in India are waking up to the possibilities of the animation format beyond children's stories.
"It has not yet picked up in our country like it has in Japan or other countries...
Even Disney films, though they are children's stories, are aimed at the adult audience as well. Any art form is dependent on money. If it's not viable it's very difficult to make anything. Animation is a labour-intensive process. It takes a lot of time. So you need economically viable animation," she said.
The film is titled "Loop Line" because Shahane could see the parallel between her character and Mumbai's local trains.
Both keep working without receiving any gratitude and are like lifelines to their family and the city.
Shahane said she wants to keep exploring stories where she has complete creative control like she had in "Loop Line".
"As an artist, I am backing myself... Every artist should take that leap of faith. I am 58 years old and I have done a lot of work. During your struggle, you made compromises, but when you are comfortable, you should be committed to your art."
"Loop Line" features voices of actors Mitalee Jagtap and Anand Alkunte. The movie has been screened at film galas like 19th Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Mumbai Short and Documentary Film Festival and New York Indian Film Festival.