Rajshri Deshpande: ‘There Needs to be Sensitivity Towards Portrayal of LGBTQI Community’ | Exclusive

Rajshri Deshpande speaks about her short film ‘Privacy’, portrayal of women and LGBTQI community in cinema, censorship and more, in an exclusive interaction with India.com.

Rajshri Deshpande on Privacy, ‘Censorship’ And More: Rajshri Deshpande, known for her unconventional roles in films is once again geared up for her short film Privacy. The Sudeep Kanwal directorial is a social-thriller based on the importance of privacy in human lives. The story reflects on how surveillance cameras or technology in general could be a threat to people’s personal lives. Rajshri portrays Roopali who works at the Mumbai surveillance command and control center as an operator. Rajshri is also known for her grassroot activism apart from working in movies. In an exclusive interaction with India.com, she speaks about the need for awareness about privacy, ground action, censorship and more. Excerpts from the interview.

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE SAYS HUMAN VALUES ARE MISSING IN TODAY’S TECH SAVVY WORLD

Rajshri, on being quizzed about the cyber-crimes and whether she has been concerned bout her privacy as a public figure, states that, “Technology is the weapon. So, we have to decide how we actually want to use that technology as it can go into a very dangerous space too. Unfortunately, we all are dealing with it. It’s the social media space where someone is constantly posting something including me. But I have to make sure where I can create that boundary. Apart from the whole technical world, what is missing is the human values and empathy towards each other and society. If we have people who are empathetic and understand the space and structure, then I don’t think they will misuse the technology.”

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE SPEAKS ON THE NEED FOR AWARENESS IN TIER-THREE CITIES

Rajshri Deshpande: ‘There Needs to be Sensitivity Towards Portrayal of Women-LGBTQI Community On-Screen’ | Exclusive

When asked about the misuse of technology and hidden cameras in dressing rooms at shopping malls, the actress opines, “The awareness has to be there regarding how we can keep ourselves safe. It is very important and this film in itself is a discussion. That’s why I want more and more people to see the film, to feel that this is quite possible. People will think that maybe it won’t happen to me. But you never know, it can happen to anyone. So, awareness has to be there, not just from people from the film industry, but also in schools and colleges. In case of dressing room cameras, imagine in the urban spaces people at least know about it, but in the tier-three cities and villages, how difficult it must be. There are so many dangerous things in these areas that the more and more awareness, the more it will be helpful for all of us to live a safe life.”

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE STRESSES ON AWARENESS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Rajshri Deshpande: ‘There Needs to be Sensitivity Towards Portrayal of Women-LGBTQI Community On-Screen’ | Exclusive

Since, Rajshri has been working at the grassroot level and also runs a school for children through her NGO Nabhangan Foundation, the actress speaks about the need for ground action. She says, “I off course have been working on ground for almost everything. As an actor I am working on subjects which come from the society and talks about the society. But I know that films have one space. So, I get out from there and actually go on ground and work towards that. Because ground action is very important to me. So, awareness about even the mental health, education and different issues is something I have been doing for past ten years now. So, it is my way of raising awareness because I do work in films but that is not sufficient. I feel that even the social media or documentaries or any kind of discussion does work at a certain level. There is a time when you have to get out from your monitor or red carpets and just go towards the soil and meet people who are actually suffering or hustling towards some kind of a situation.”

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE SAYS CREATORS MUST HAVE AWARENESS ABOUT SENSITIVE TOPICS

When asked about debate around need for censorship of OTT content and theatrical releases, Rajshri points out, “It’s again a very thin line between what to censor and what not to. It depends upon what kind of a space you come from, in that your education, awareness and understanding of society really helps. For me, it is very important how the women and LGBTQI have been portrayed. It is crucial for me how any political or sensitive topic has been written and depicted. How are you gazing the women or is it something just to titillate someone? It is important to me how the writer and the creator are looking at that material. That’s why I take the decision whether I want to do that part or not.”

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE SPEAKS ABOUT DEPICTION OF CONTROVERSIAL THEMES

Rajshri Deshpande: ‘There Needs to be Sensitivity Towards Portrayal of Women-LGBTQI Community On-Screen’ | Exclusive

The Privacy actress also speaks on need for being empathetic when depicting themes related to faith or religion. She states that, “About censorship in general, off course we all have the freedom to talk about what we want to and make what we want. At times there are words that can create more havoc. So, we need to understand that what it is which can create controversies and make the world a little bitter. We all should understand how we portray caste, creed, religion and women on-screen. If we have empathy, things will be much better. Because atleast, whoever the makers are, they will look at things with empathy that if I am portraying a character from the community how sensitive I should be.”

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE POINTS AT NEED FOR SENSITISATION OF JOURNALISTS

Rajshri concludes by reflecting on the role of media and opines, “Even the journalist community on what kind of question should be there. The paparazzi who is gazing someone, how are you going to face them, how are you going to pan an actress. So, if the person is not sensitised, he will pan the way he wants and if he wants to show her in a certain way. So, that has to be censored somewhere because that’s harming. You are going into someone else’s privacy because that is what your job is. So, I feel all these things must be somewhere understood.”

Privacy recently had its world premiere at Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan).

For more updates on Privacy and Rajshri Deshpande, check out this space at India.com.

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