Latest news with #ManasiParekh
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
How Manasi Parekh is changing Gujarati films with bold female characters
'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.'
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
I choose films where women have a voice: Manasi Parekh
Manasi Parekh Bhoomi Trivedi and Parikh in a still from the song Jogni Winning the National Award for Kutch Express made me realise that we are on the right track,' says Manasi Parekh , who will soon be seen in an interesting role in Shubhchintak . The Jhamkudi actress, who also runs a production house with her singer-husband Parthiv Gohil, was in Ahmedabad recently. She shares, 'My focus as an artiste and producer has always been to bring out unheard stories. There is never a formula that has worked for my films. But the National Award gave me belief-jo kuch bhi hum kar rahe hain, woh sahi hai. I aim to continue that.' 'Till when will we cast only men as leads?' Manasi has mostly done films with strong female characters, and she says it's a conscious choice. She shares, 'For how long will we cast only men as leads? I choose films that have women in a strong space. It may not be a lead character, but they should have a voice-not just as a 'group of women', it can be a story about one or two women.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo She adds, 'Today, writers are keeping me in mind while writing certain scripts, and they are all experimental or untapped topics. So, I feel grateful. When such films are liked, we know that the audience wants to watch such content.' 'It's great to see the rise of Gujarati cinema ' Manasi says 'it is a great time for regional cinema,' adding, 'While I keep doing Hindi projects too, I believe Gujarati cinema is on the rise and people are enjoying watching our films. It feels great and I love being a part of this phase. With no formula present, it is challenging too.' She adds, 'What happens in big industries, especially for Hindi cinema, is that there is already a path that has been created and you can follow that to get success. But in a growing regional film industry like ours, we are still figuring out our space and that is very exciting for me as an artiste and producer. I don't want to get stereotyped by playing one kind of role. I want makers to be spoilt for choice while casting me in various genres. My next film, Maharani, is the remake of a Marathi film. I believe adaptations (from one language to another) are amazing. Content is the king now, and audiences want something that clicks with them amidst the many options they have.' 'As producers, we believe in taking risks' Manasi, who has co-produced some hit Gujarati films with Parthiv, says, 'Parthiv and I are artistes, we aren't filmmakers per se. We are just taking risks and following our gut feeling while casting actors and making films, like Ratna Pathak Shah in Kutch Express , Viraj Ghelani in Jhamkudi and Swwapnil Joshi in Shubhchintak. We have explored different genres till now. We experiment with the aim to just have fun and do the kind of films that haven't been made till now.' 'Bhoomi and I wanted to collaborate for a long time' Recently, Manasi collaborated with Bhoomi Trivedi for Jogni, a dance number. She shares, 'Bhoomi and I wanted to do something like this for a long time. Parthiv had composed a song which he and Bhoomi wrote together. We realised that there are not many good garba videos available, and the ones we have are by Bollywood makers. So, we wanted to do something in Gujarati. Also, it was like a message-two contemporary female artistes can be supportive of each other and be happy about being on screen together.'
