Mumbai is not just expensive but it can be a brutal city too: Payal Kapadia

As director Payal Kapadia gears up for the release of her first feature All We Imagine As Light on November 22 in India, she tells Hindustan Times that she views the film more as a ‘poem’. Shot in blue and yellow tones, the Grand Prix winner at Cannes 2024 is an ode to the millions of migrants who flock to Mumbai with the hope of a better life and future. (Also read: Payal Kapadia interview: ‘Laapata Ladies was a sensible choice for the Oscars as lobbying in Hollywood takes money’)
Ask the director whether the characters – Prabha (Kani Kusruti), Anu (Divya Prabha) and Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam) – unite more through their sorrows and difficulties rather than joy and Kapadia replies, “I would think that whenever there is Anu and Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon), it is more joyous; whenever they are walking around, exploring Mohammad Ali Road, exploring the parks, etc, that part for me has some feeling of delight, because everybody’s perception of a city is different. Like some of us might find it dreary, but when you are in the first romance, you might find it full of joy. You know, they (the three women) are there for each other, they reach out to each other, that’s how the friendship evolves.”
Kapadia believes that Mumbai is a very difficult city to live in and adds, “Everybody’s perpetually moving (homes, transport, etc). It’s not always easy to live in Mumbai and we saw during COVID also, so many people had to go back because it wasn’t possible to live here; it’s so expensive. For me, sometimes it can be a brutal city also.”
As to why she picked two Malayali nurses as central to the film, Kapadia explains, “Language was an important issue for me. When I started writing the film, I got a lot of the stories from Malayali nurses as I was spending a lot of time in hospitals because of some family issues. But I also feel like when you are from the south, for example, to go to a city like Mumbai, the language barrier is a real thing. A lot of people feel that sense of alienation. I feel like language can unite you also. So, a lot of Malayalis and Tamilians stick together. A friendship between a Maharashtrian woman and a Malayali woman is not that common. Because we like to stick with each other and our language and what we speak and what we feel comfortable with. And they (Prabha and Parvaty) are actually a nurse and a cook, which also doesn’t always happen. That’s a more hopeful, fictional relationship in my dream world.”
The 38-year-old director acknowledges that while she is grateful for the Cannes award, releasing a film in India is a dream for her too. “Releasing a film and having a hit is another amazing thing. Both things are good for me. How many people actually know about film festivals outside? Not that many; in urban places yes but overall, in the country, people don’t know. As for Cannes, I felt really privileged at that point because I know how hard it is for filmmakers to show their film to be selected at big events. You also know that for the next film, maybe it won’t happen – filmmaking is very up and down. You have to take everything with a pinch of salt. I mean, for two years, we thought that we won’t raise the money for this film and maybe we should do something else,” she explains.
Working with Divya Prabha, Kani and Chhaya Kadam has taught Kapadia a lot according to her and she believes she gained a family while making this film. But her stint in the world of cinema has not been easy. “Whether it is mainstream or whether it is making films that are not industry-supported, it is difficult for filmmakers. And even in the big films, sometimes people are taking such huge loans and there’s so much risk. It’s a risky job. I think everybody is find it difficult at every step and it doesn’t get easier either. Like, the bigger the budget, the more pressure that there is to perform. For me, it was pressure whether I could raise money to make my film and at that point, you wonder, what the hell am I doing with my life? That’s always there.”
Kapadia says her next film is also based in Mumbai as that’s the city she knows best. And as to whether Prabha, Anu and Parvaty fulfil their dreams in Mumbai, the city of dreams, Payal Kapadia laughs and replies, “For me that could be another film after this film. I feel that whatever each one is going to do next, there’s going to be a little bit more understanding between them and they will at least be that family that they couldn’t get at home.”