'We need to bring the female gaze into our films': Rima Das

Assamese filmmaker Rima Das’s second feature film, Village Rockstars (2017), about a village girl who aspires to form her own rock band, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened at over 80 film festivals around the world. It won the national award for best feature film in 2018 and was India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2019. Since then, she has directed four other feature films, including Village Rockstars 2, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival last year where it won the Kim Jiseok award. She also joined the Academy Awards as a member in 2024. Wearing multiple hats of writer, director, producer, cinematographer and editor of her films, this one-woman army is a powerhouse of talent and creativity.

But she did not have it easy. Coming from Assam to Mumbai to become an actor, she was in for crushing disappointment when she realised that her looks and language skills were going to be a hindrance. She became depressed. “I tried my best to become someone else, wearing makeup and high heels to fit in,” she told THE WEEK. It was when she bought a camera―a Canon 5D Mark II―that her life changed. Her calling, she realised, was not in front of the camera, but behind it. Excerpts from an interview:

Today, with excellent filmmakers like you, Meghna Gulzar, Alankrita Shrivastava and Kiran Rao, more women in India are behind the camera than ever before. Has this changed the way women are represented in cinema?

It is a great feeling for us women filmmakers to have so many of us behind the camera. And women are definitely doing well and creating opportunities for other women. But my journey has been different, because I have not done many mainstream films, and neither have I collaborated with other filmmakers. I did it all myself. I created my own opportunities. I have produced and directed my five feature films by myself. So, I have not been dependent on anyone, male or female. When power is concentrated in someone’s hands, it changes things.

What were some of the challenges you faced as a woman filmmaker, like safety or finding funding?

When you are making a film almost autonomously, everything becomes a challenge. You know you are taking a risk by investing in yourself. It’s not just the money, but also the time. Like my latest film, Village Rockstars 2―it took me four years to make it. So I have given four years of my life for something that’s a big risk.

When Village Rockstars became a success, I became a filmmaker overnight. After that, I wanted to learn more. I became more curious. I felt a sense of liberation that nothing else had ever given me. It felt beautiful. I was happy because I had the freedom to create what I wanted to create. And that freedom, I think, came from my personal struggles.

As far as safety is concerned, male directors do have a kind of freedom that we do not. Till now, if I want to do some research or shoot something in the middle of the night, I am dependent on someone from my family or crew who is male. That fear is there from your childhood. I don’t have the courage to go to the mountains or to a remote village alone with my camera. I need to think of so many other factors. In that way, we are still not free because we need the support of men. It is sad that we have accepted that and are not doing anything to change it. I just hope it gets better.

In Village Rockstars, there are many restrictions imposed on the protagonist Dhunu. Was that the case with you as well?

Yes, I faced that. I was the only daughter and I was like Dhunu. I used to love climbing trees and swimming in the river. We were free in nature till puberty, but afterwards, my friends stopped doing these things, but I resisted. It is not that I was a feminist or anything; I did not even understand what that word meant. I just knew that this was what I wanted to do, so I continued. I ended up being the only girl in a gang of boys, most of whom were younger to me. I used to play with them, and everyone in the village used to say that I am my father’s eldest son. They used to see me as different. I don’t think climbing trees is a boy’s privilege. It is the privilege of anyone who loves doing it. That’s why I like the character of Dhunu. She’s not trying to be a boy. She’s just doing what she loves to do. So that’s the equality I believe in. In that way, I’m more a humanist than a feminist.

As a filmmaker, what do you want for women in entertainment?

I think we need to bring more female gaze into our films. We need more women characters, not necessarily shown in a positive way. But whether negative or positive, we need to bring the female gaze more confidently.

Also, we need to think about how we can give more opportunities to women in cinema. I remember the fear I developed because of preconceived ideas when I first joined the industry, wanting to become an actor. Even before going to meet someone, it is in your mind as a woman. All these negative thoughts hinder your growth. So, creating a positive environment for women in cinema is very important. Recently, I met an actress who recounted to me her experience of being harassed by a man. I thought then how important it is to create a safe space for women in cinema. They should be able to sleep peacefully at night, and have the freedom to focus on their work. They should not have to worry that if they say something or act in a particular way, they will lose their job.

In your movies, do you make a conscious attempt to highlight this female gaze?

I do not do it consciously. I do not force myself to do it. It comes naturally. There is a sentence that the mother of the main protagonist says in Village Rockstars 2, that women are women’s greatest enemies. Someone asked me whether I believed that. But it’s not a question of what I believe. It’s a question of what women keep saying. So as a director, I’m using that to start a conversation. I just like to be human while presenting a story.