Shalini Kantayya

How much a part of your identity as a filmmaker is being an activist? 

My love for filmmaking is deeply tied to my love for human rights. I thinkwhat moves people to make changes in their lives is more than intellectualknowledge, but feeling something viscerally and emotionally. I believe that whatmakes us laugh, what makes us cry, what makes us identify with an experience orconnect with a character is what can inspire us to make change--even smallchange--in our lives. 

Do you ever feel typecast as the 'liberal activist filmmaker'? 

Of course, people always want to push you into a box, but my work has alwaysbeen about breaking boundaries. There are moments that I feel my art and myactivism are at odds with each other. While I feel deeply committed to usingmedia as a tool to inspire, educate, and empower audiences, there are momentswhen I just have to let myself play. So I hope that I won’t disappoint anyoneif I want to put my own spin on a horror flick or do a big-budget action movie,or if I just want to make people laugh.  

Which filmmakers have had an influence on your style? 

I actually have a really eclectic taste in film. I love the work of Hong Kongdirector Wong Kar-Wei and Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. I also love American70s era filmmaking--Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola, andGeorge Lucas. But the list goes on and on… 

Any Indian filmmakers? 

I admire M. Night Shyamalan, not only for his films, but because he’s beenable to do break the mold, and not just do Indian films, but big-budgetHollywood films. I’ve also been inspired by diasporic women directors likeDeepa Mehta, Gurindher Chadha, and Mira Nair. I grew up watching Mani Ratnamfilms, and I love the Bengalis--Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Aparna Sen. 

Who as an artist, according to you, has used their medium as a platformfor awareness?

I think George Clooney made a really cutting commentary on current Americanpolitical climate by portraying the restrictions on freedom of press during theMacarthy era in Good Night and Good Luck and through his work in filmslike Syriana. And whatever your critique of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,I think it’s positive that they are making it mainstream to care about humanrights. 

What's one film you would want to have made? 

Star Wars. The first three. It reminds me of our great Indian epicstories. Arguably no other film has penetrated global culture in the same way.You can say "May the force be with you" anywhere in the world, and peoplewill know what you’re talking about. 

Are there actors you particularly look forward to working with? 

Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, George Clooney, Robert Downy Jr., Gael GarciaBernal, Konkona Sen, Shabhana Azmi, Saif Ali Kahn and Om Puri.  

What drew your attention to the problem of access to clean water? 

In January 2001, a colleague asked me to make a documentary about the MahaKumbha Mela. In the 40 days I spent living at the banks of Ganga filming, I fellwildly in love with the river. And while I was moved by the millions who revereGanga, I began to question throwing heaps of trash into the river as offerings.I started to read extensively about water sources and what I found shook me outof my seat. Two-thirds of the worlds’ population will not have adequate accessto water by the year 2027, just twenty years from now. The indisputable factthat India is living on the edge of this water crisis, led me to make A Dropof Life.  

On The Lot -- you have to make a film a week. How are yousurviving? 

Being on On the Lot has been one of the most challenging experiencesof my career. Imagine making a film every five days. Under any circumstances,the production process is frequently a hellish phase of exhaustion. What isunique about this process is having to continually be creative, to conceptualizeideas and write scripts on strict deadlines, and to adhere to restrictions thatI think even the best directors in the industry would find challenging. Therehave been entire weeks I barely slept or ate. But in the whirlwind of it all,there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.   

Do you think you're going to be the next ruler of the Brown Vote? Youprobably hate this, but Shilpa - Sanjaya - Shalini is catchy. 

Shilpa-Sanjaya-Shalini. I can’t say it without laughing out loud. No,really. I never ever thought I would be on reality TV. What I think isheartening is that the visibility of South Asians in American mainstreamtelevision is increasing. When I was growing up in the US, I can’t remember asingle Indian on TV and being Indian didn’t have much of a cool factor in theUS. And um, yeah, I would be grateful to rock the vote and to have the supportof millions of Desis, who are watching On the Lot.