Anu Menon

As a filmmaker Anu Menon has always believed in telling stories that are relatable and yet push the audience to think beyond what is being shown. That they are largely driven by strong womencentric characters comes from a personal space and experiences as a woman. Now with her latest Neeyat starring the powerhouse performer Vidya Balan, she continues to push herself out of the comfort zone having attempted the murder-mystery genre. Not surprisingly, the filmmaker has hit bullseyes on all counts with presenting a taut edge of the seat thriller. As we catch up with the director, she talks to us about evolving as a filmmaker since her first, working with Vidya again, and a possible sequel being in the works

We have seen you explore very different genres altogether earlier, whether it was Waiting or London Paris New York. As a filmmaker how exciting was it tackling a murder mystery in Neeyat?

It’s definitely not an easy genre to write and to put together because it’s so intricate. It’s like putting together a puzzle, then you solve through it and make sure that the characters and the mystery delivers and there are no loopholes or lose ends. Also there’s a lot of dependency on physical stuff - there’s a storm, it’s a castle and there are all these characters and action sequences - it’s like having so many different kinds of pieces, you don’t want to pre-emp something, you don’t want to give away anything. It needs so much calibration all the time. It’s like a Swiss watch. I felt like this was the most intricate bit of work I’ve ever done.

And you’re working with Vidya Balan again after Shakuntala Devi. Is there a pressure that you have to do justice to her as an actor?

I think the way it works with Vidya is that once she has said yes, she’s on the journey with you. So, there’s no pressure there, just a partnership. Obviously when I’m pitching it to Vidya and even to the other actors, you’re like making sure that you’re using their abilities. Shakuntala Devi was like a Vidya Balan act in many ways. Neeyat is the opposite of that, which is the interesting part. That was a larger than life character, this one has to say so much without saying anything. So, it’s tricky in a whole other way. That’s the challenge that actors look for. To go on a journey which is a bit different from your last journey. I think all of us had to step out of our comfort zones to make this film and with Vidya, this journey has been amazing.

A character is often an extension of the filmmaker or the actor… So what about you and Vidya?

Well, I got a fringe after the show (laughs). See when Vidya and I talk character we talk a lot about from our lives. We’re really close to each other and we can go into some really dark places. So, there will always be a part of you which you explore, especially in these kinds of strong female characters. But just because you’re a strong female character doesn’t mean you’re strong all the time and you don’t make mistakes. When I got hired for Killing Eve, one of my producers said - I saw your film Shakuntala Devi, she’s a lot like you, isn’t she, like that sort of infectious energy. And I was like, maybe that’s why I was attracted to her. So, many times you make all these choices not deliberately.

The film has been so wellreceived, is a sequel on the cards already?

I have the story for the sequel, and I called my producer and I said - okay this is what’s going to happen in Neeyat-2 and it was like okay!

Although the way that you handle your male characters is also commendable, your fabric innately tends to revolve around being women centric. So, is that by default that you get drawn towards such stories or is it a conscious thing?

When I write original stuff, I end up writing female characters because you write about things that you know, things that bother you, so you make that inherent choice. Also a lot of shows I got hired for were female-led because you tell strong female stories. I did recently direct a British show, which is not women centric.

Obviously, like Neeyat could have been made with a male detective. But I think when we wrote it, it just felt very obvious that this character is a female. I think it would be interesting to get into this psyche of a male lead though and see how to change the male’s lead stories.

So, if you were to do a movie like you’re talking about, who is the one male actor that you would want to really work with?

It always depends on characters that you write eventually. But as a fan, I’m only fan of one actor and that’s Shah Rukh Khan!

How have you grown from your first movie till now… I think with every film I’ve definitely learnt a lot more about craft and the craft has become more polished. When you start a career all you want is: “Will somebody make my film?” That is the biggest fear. And then it is about: “Do people like my work?” But then later on you get into the space where you’re like: “Am I doing this the best possible way and am I employing everything that I’ve learnt?” That approach has happened in the last 3-4 years. And I think that you get better with each film, also, because I do so many different kinds of things and I go from working here and international, so you’re always on your toes. So, you have to keep your senses really sharp. I think that has also made me a little stronger. Now I’m much more confident when I go onto something which I’ve never done before. I think that’s really been the change in the last few years.

Will we see more of your films coming out in the industry here considering you’re juggling between working in London too?

Yeah, and I love that. The worlds are merging, and I love living between two worlds because that’s the joy. Ultimately, I just feel like there are so many stories all over the place that need to be told and all kinds of untold stories that are waiting to be explored. So, I would never give up this aspect because this is so inherent to who I am. This fabric of storytelling. There is always going to be two parts of me - the part of me that lives in London and the part of me that comes from this. And I take some of this there and some of that here and play with it. And I think ultimately if I wake up feeling excited about something, I have to go after it irrespective of which industry it is in. I don’t think I’m trying to be next biggest something anywhere.

Do you think this is a great time to be in the industry to be a storyteller and doing the kind of movies especially that you do?

The times are always changing and I think you have to always concentrate on what you want to do. Because many a times what you want to do is always a few steps ahead. And that’s happened to me so many times where they are like no you cannot have a flawed female actor or female protagonist. If you want to push boundaries, there will always be resistance. And you got to find your tribe that says- we’re going to try and do it. I just don’t want to go for low hanging fruits. It’s a really difficult job. I’m not saying I hate it when I say it’s a hard job, there are jobs which are genuinely harder than ours. But it is painful, you got to put your heart out there for 2-3 years minimum. So, I think it has to be worth that battle. There is that sort of what works and what doesn’t work. But I don’t think anybody knows what works. The only thing you know is do you really want to do this or not. I think that is the only truth that you can chase and hope for the best.