Actress Sai Deodhar, who plays the role of Pallavi in the show Nishabd, says she was a bit apprehensive about taking it up. The show addresses some concerns faced by the LGBTQ community and she was worried if they would be portrayed correctly. However, the makers made sure that everything has been portrayed beautifully.
“When I was offered Nishabd, I was apprehensive when Miti called me and told me that it’s an LGBTQIA+ film. I was quite happy as I had directed two short films on this subject. I have always felt that there are very beautiful stories that need to be shared. Stories of families and stories that touch everyone. When Mitu told me about it, I was very happy. I wanted to know how they are going to portray the characters because there is a very thin line and I wanted to know that the line is not going to be crossed. The aesthetics were maintained and the beauty of the story for me was more important than the physicality that was portrayed. I was very clear about knowing how the film was going to be shaped up and what she has in mind. When she told me that it’s a beautiful mother-daughter story, I was completely bowled over. I never had the inhibition about doing this subject because I feel there is a lot that needs to be spoken and vocalised about the subject,” she says.
Talking about working with director- producer Mitu and Positive Thinkerz, she says, “We have known each other for many years because we both have been in the industry for a very long time. She is a great human being and is very passionate about the stories and what she wants to talk about. That resonates in her work, she has a great team, her energy is really amazing and I am looking forward to doing more projects with her.”
Talking about the ongoing Pride Month, she says, “Before the pandemic, during the Pride month, we happened to be in Madrid. In Madrid, the way they celebrate each other’s individuality is amazing. When we saw the visuals there and openly displaying and being proud of what they are I think it was a great experience. I carried that in my heart. I do not belong to the community but, as an outsider, I have always been intrigued to know the nuances and understand the physics of what goes behind it, especially when we are still a community that looks down upon this. The fact that I want these stories to be told and heard and there is a lot of layering that goes in these kinds of interpersonal relationships.”
Meanwhile, the actress says that there are not many shows made on such topics. “I don’t think anyone has dabbled with LGBTQ as a subject in this medium as yet. It’s not something that a GEC would want to consume which is sad. It feels really refreshing and I feel happy that Atrangii, as a channel, is coming forward as a GEC channel and normalising these things. It feels great that a GEC is standing up for something like this and definitely I feel it is a new wave in television,” she says.
She adds, “Conversations regarding same-sex relationships have always been happening earlier behind closed doors. But, in the last decade, the way the world has changed the outlook towards it, I think with article 377 coming in, we have become more vocalised. I have a daughter and I feel that schools should make it normal and keep it in the syllabus so that kids at a very young age don’t feel apprehensive and scared to come out. Normal is a very subjective term. I think the conversation and the noise has begun in the right way.”
