Male directors understand women issues as much as we do: Saiyami Kher

In her upcoming projects, actor Saiyami Kher will be seen collaborating with filmmakers Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana. Lauding the increase in the number of women on a film set now, including technical departments, she says, “So many female filmmakers have now come to the fore… It has resulted in a change in storytelling with many women stories being told.”

But the 29-year-old believes her experience while working with them is no different when compared to her male directors: “I’ve worked with Neeraj Pandey, Anurag Kashyap and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (filmmakers), who understand women issues as much as we do. Gender has no role to play in treating a subject sensitively. Ashwiny ma’am is very particular about choosing costumes for her characters. That’s the only aesthetic difference I felt.”

So, what are her thoughts on the importance of women stories being told by women? “I don’t think we can put a blanket on it… Queen (2013) and Choked (2020) were made by male directors but the way they helmed those stories of women characters was beautiful. Likewise, Zoya Akhtar (filmmaker) portrays male friendships so beautifully. It’s great that everyone, irrespective of their gender, is at par with one another,” Kher explains.

Going forward, she has a bunch of projects lined up for release. And while work slowed down in the film industry in the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Breathe: Into the Shadows actor feels she has a lot to be grateful about. “Everything has been so uncertain in the past few years. But in 2020, I had four releases. In 2021, I shot for five projects. There has been an increase in the consumption of OTT content, and that has opened avenues for a lot of people,” Kher ends.