Rhea Kapoor talks about understanding her privilege when it comes to Bollywood and the need for impactful cinema.
Rhea Kapoor began producing films when she was in early 20s with Aisha. The filmmaker, who recently saw the release of her fourth film as producer – Thank You For Coming – has been directed by her husband Karan Boolani. The small-budget film opened to low numbers in a limited number of theatres but has since grown, posting healthy numbers for a film its size.
In an exclusive chat with DNA, Rhea talks about the film, her filmmaking process, and privilege. Coming from a family of film personalities (her dad Anil is a celebrated actor, sister Sonam an actress, uncle Boney a producer, and several cousins actors too), Rhea says she is aware of the privilege she has. “I am very well aware of my privilege and the fact that people look at me and think ‘why do you need to work’. I am not deluded,” she says, adding, “But the one thing I am aware of is that if I am getting into this (filmmaking), if I am working hard, it can only happen if I deeply care about something. I really do care about the intent of my movies and make them with an impact in mind.”
Rhea says she chose to make a film like Thank You For Coming, which talks about female orgasm, because she believes that films should be about sending a message. The producer says, “Nothing is as powerful as a movie to change a mindset, to make you feel something, to stir something inside of you. Honestly, these things are really important. What a shame would it be if you spend your whole life working and after you are gone, you didn’t change anything or leave anything behind. There should be some reason for your hard work and existence.”
Thank You For Coming opened to positive reviews from critics and a surprisingly healthy number at the box office despite a limited release (Rs 1 crore from only 500 screens). The film stars Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, Shibani Bedi, Dolly Ahluwalia, Sushant Digvikar, and Karan Kundrra, with a cameo by Anil Kapoor. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last month before its theatrical release this Friday (October 6).
