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First Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
Actress-filmmaker Renuka Shahane: 'There are so many situations where casual misogyny and toxic behaviour is normalized'
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress spoke about the idea of her animated short film 'Loop Line,' her excitement as the film gears up for its screening at New York Film Festival, and cinema celebrating misogyny on celluloid in the name of heroism. read more Actor and filmmaker Renuka Shahane has made her third directorial feature that is titled Loop Line. It's a short animated film in Marathi that will be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on June 21. It's a disturbing subject on the monotony of a married woman, the same discomforting subject that was tackled in films like The Great Indian Kitchen and its remake Mrs. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress spoke about the idea of the story, her excitement as the film gears up for its screening, and cinema celebrating misogyny on celluloid in the name of heroism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Edited excerpts from the interview What is the excitement like because the film has made it to the New York Film Festival? I am extremely excited not only because it's something that I have done for the time. Being from live action and coming to animation, making an animation short has been a very, very exciting learning experience for me. And then for it to be selected in film festivals that matter so much, for me as well as my team, I think it's, an incredible honour. What is the meaning of the title? Loop line, if you can explain it. Well, the film talks about, sort of, the relentlessness of domestic duties that a housewife has to do. She's almost on auto mode, you know. And her life, I have compared, parallelly with the Mumbai local train that runs on a track right next to her house. And it's about the same thing that you know, she's constantly being overloaded by people and responsibilities. And, there is no scope for delay. She has to run day in and day out, and yet she's not really regarded, with great admiration. So it's basically a thankless job, and that's why it's called Loop Line because it keeps happening again and again. And that's the central theme that it is, you know, a day in her life which is representative of, many, many, many days in her life or in the life of many millions of housewives who are in the same situation. India has not properly utilized the animation format. So was this the reason you and your entire team chose the animated format for this? I, as a writer, imagined the story that I was writing in animation. A, because it has a lot of imagination in it, and the housewife deals with the drudgery of her life and her loveless marriage by, you know, imagining things that she finds beautiful that takes her away from that drudgery and also as an expression of her emotions. So when I was writing it itself, I felt that it takes to animation rather than live action. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And, there is a certain quality in the script which I wanted, which was of being involved with the characters and not completely, like, you know. So animation gives that scope for the audience to be involved, but at the same time, be dissociated because you're not looking at your flesh and blood people. You know? So I think it was the demand of the script that I chose animation and, of course, because I love animation. And it's something that I have loved watching, you know, through my childhood, and I feel that it is such a compelling format to tell stories. So that was something, and, also, it excited me that I would get to learn something new, you know, to go into another direction. So all these were the, you know, points of view that I had. When I took it, I had already decided to make it an animation film before I took it to Paperboard Design Studio. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Where did the idea of the story come from? This is a germ let me say, as a writer, the evolution of making, the three films that I have made till now. Like, my directorial debut was the Marathi film Rita, which was based on my mother's novel. So it was like her perception. It was my mother's novel that I was kind of adapting into a screenplay. The second was Tribhanga. It was a gut level reflection of what I had observed around me perhaps, what I had imagined, and it was like me throughout. And Loop Line is something that I have not experienced ever. Like, it's not my life, and yet I have observed many such lives. So in that sense, it's an evolution for me because now I'm writing about things that, maybe don't come from a lived experience, let's say. So, you know and, of course, it's about a theme that is very close to my heart because it's about women's lives, women's journeys, women's everyday lives. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So I think that, of course, has always been of interest to me. And, so it all came together in this, you know, in a succinct way in this story. What does it take for women to finally speak up, to break that loop, to muster up the courage and walk away from any relationship that turns toxic or abusive? What a lovely question that is. I think that in most films that you see and, you expect that women will finally take either a small or a big step to break out of this, you know, sort of toxic marriage or toxic situation of any kind. And, my Loop Line talks about those women who really don't have that kind of power to do that. They don't give themselves that option. And, I know that the option that many people take of stepping out or doing something different or rebelling is extremely tough. It's a very, very difficult, decision to make. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And yet, even living in a situation like this is also extremely difficult and requires a lot of strength. So I think we talk less about stories where women find ways to deal with their own situation and deal with the toxicity of their lives, in ways which might not, seem rebellious in terms of what society expects. But, at the same time, I feel that these little things that they are doing with their own selves, like, in their own minds, is a rebellion in a way, and that's what keeps their sanity. It takes incredible amount of strength for women to kind of speak up. You must be aware. All of us know that on social media, there is a difference between the trolling that women face and the trolling that men face. So I think that, basically, traditional societies would rather that women, you know, kind of sit at home and and not open their mouths, basically. So, that that is, still ongoing, you know, in a very insidious way. So the women who speak up, they are really, really, you know, brave, and I feel it takes a lot of courage to, even stick with your lives, against incredible odds. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We have seen women characters in movies who have been submissive, who have given it to toxic people. So when you watch these movies, is there a sense of discomfort you feel? Yes. That is the idea that, you know, out of that discomfort, you start thinking and you start wondering whether this is the right way of behaving. You've seen this happening enough in families, and one never actually steps in and says that, oh, why are you behaving like this with your wife, your sister, your maid, whatever, whichever woman character there is in your house. There are so many situations where casual misogyny and toxic behaviour is normalized. There is no physical harm, isn't there? But sometimes the mental scars are even worse, especially if they continue over a very long period of time. So I think it takes a lot of courage to speak up, to change your situation because, the rest of your life might not be that happy ending that you thought of. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So, it's a difficult thing. And today, what has happened is, unfortunately, there is such an imbalance that there are a lot of empowered women who are, you know, kind of, breaking glass ceilings everywhere. And yet, the set of values or moral values that are attached to women have not changed that much. And, the traditional roles of men have also not changed. I mean, they are also not given a chance to do something different.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Renuka Shahane Interview: When I started making an animated film I knew I wouldn't get my money back
When you think of Mumbai, something that comes to your mind apart from Bollywood is the busy lifeline of the city, the local trains. The humdrum of the trains serves as a reminder of the monotonous nature of a worker's life. But actor-director Renuka Shahane's animated short film, Loop Line, uses trains as a reminder of a housewife's plight. 'Housewives, who are in a way the backbone of traditional patriarchal families, and their immense efforts in taking care of everything, are disrespected and disregarded just for the fact that they cater to everyone's needs,' says Renuka, on the inception of the idea for Loop Line. Renuka's Loop Line, which is to be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on June 21, is her first animated film. In it, we see a day of a middle-aged housewife in Mumbai with a domineering husband as she goes through the tedious monotony of household chores and abuse. Like the train service, she starts her work early in the morning and continues to work until late at night. Talking about the usage of trains as an allegory, Renuka explains, 'Those women who do that day in and day out, without any reprieve and without receiving any gratitude, stick it out in an automative manner. Hence, I wanted to use the Mumbai Local as a parallel to a housewife's routine.'
Observer
12-03-2025
- Business
- Observer
10 projects underway to boost Oman's gas transportation capacity: OQGN
MUSCAT, MARCH 12 OQ Gas Networks (OQGN), the majority state-owned operator of Oman's gas transportation network, is currently implementing a portfolio of ten projects to expand capacity and meet emerging demand across its nationwide footprint. According to the publicly traded company – part of OQ Group – the list of ongoing projects includes a 48-inch CRL (also known as the Central-Rich-Lean gas) project, which increases system capacity by extending the 48-inch loop line (65 km) and developing a Gas Network Hub in Central Oman. Also under development is a 42-inch Fahud-Suhar Loop Line, envisaged as part of OQGN's Long Term Development plan, which will add 9 million standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) to the north gas network by 2027, supporting growth in Suhar and Ibri. The ongoing initiatives come on top of four projects that were delivered by OQGN during 2024. They include the 17 km pipeline project in Duqm, and the Saib Project which added 208 km of 32-inch pipeline in the Dhofar Governorate to increase the south grid capacity by 60 per cent. Significantly, the new pipeline additions of 2024 have bolstered OQGN's network length to a total of 4,235 km, up from 4,045 km in 2023, representing a growth of 4.7 per cent. Network capacity also rose 2.6 per cent to 71.1 billion cubic metres (BCM), up from 69.3 BCM in 2023, OQGN stated in its financial report for 2024. Natural gas transported during 2024 rose 6.1 per cent to 42.98 BCM, up from 40.5 BCM in 2023. Also during the year, the operator achieved a record single-day delivery of 131.4 million cubic meters (MCM), which was 4.8 per cent higher than the previous record. Buoying the outlook for the company's long-term growth is its strong positioning in the natural gas transportation space, as well as the emerging green hydrogen and decarbonisation landscape. 'Oman's gas demand is expected to remain stable over the next two decades, driven by robust LNG exports and natural gas-based electricity generation, which together form a solid foundation for sustained demand. With a natural monopoly in midstream gas transportation, OQGN is well-positioned to benefit from stable demand. Looking ahead, Oman Vision 2040 focuses on economic diversification, particularly in green hydrogen and CO₂ transportation, where OQGN's expertise makes it the preferred operator to support and enable Oman's hydrogen ambitions,' OQGN noted in its Annual Report. To this end, OQGN aims to solidify its position over the next five years as a critical infrastructure provider by expanding its existing network, becoming the partner of choice in energy transition projects, and emphasizing its role in sustainability. 'Under its strategy, OQGN is set to expand core gas midstream services while advancing into hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) transportation. As part of Oman's green hydrogen strategy, the Company has signed a MoU with Hydrom in 2024 and was appointed the National Infrastructure Provider for Hydrogen (H₂) pipelines.' Furthermore, under a separate MoU signed with Oxy Oman, the company is also providing regulatory and techno-commercial advisory support on CO₂ transportation with the goal of developing a CCUS value chain in Oman. Additionally, OQGN is collaborating with Shell, OQ, and PDO on the Blue Horizons low-carbon and ammonia pre-FEED project to explore bankable commercial models.
