I don’t take the pressure of a report card on a daily basis: Swati Bhattacharya

While she stays married to advertising, Swati Bhattacharya periodically makes short films, films that have travelled the festival circuits from Vancouver Film Festival to Miami Shorts. She won the Best Short Film title at the Kolkata International Short Film Festival and the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke for the Best Screenplay for her film Double Shift.  Outside of work, Swati is a single mom, raising two teenage girls in the whirlwind of advertising.

Foray into filmmaking

Starting out as an advertising copywriter, Swati had to deal with rejection on a daily basis. As she grew senior, there was added the pressure of behaving well while her heart was being broken.

“Writing a short film gives you more freedom to express yourself so I always looked at it as my sweet revenge on advertising. My first short film was a day in the life of India (Belle de jour) for a leading national daily’s contest. Not only did it win the contest, it went on to bag the only Spikes gold in films India won in 2011,” says Swati.

The film was about how ordinary people lead extraordinary lives. It was a simple story of a housewife who works in a sex call centre and balances it all. “I’m sure the makers of Tumhari Sulu were inspired by it,” she adds. 

Subjects from short films

It’s either human beings or about being human. “For me, there is nothing more important than the human drama and human emotion which in a way also helps me save money on special effects, CG and animation,” she smiles.

Selecting topic for a film

“As a writer, I let my head go anywhere. But what I have to put my head into is to choose the right director to translate my story into reality without letting money cast a shadow. My journey would have gone nowhere if directors like Shujaad Saugadar, Amit Roy, Anaam Mishra, Anubhuti Kashyap and Shashank Chaturvedi didn’t hold my hand and be my “make-it-happen” person.

On maintaining work life-home balance

The filmmaker says she doesn’t take the pressure of a report card on an everyday basis.

“There are days, I’m five on 10 as a mother and there are days when it is five on 10 as a CCO. It all balances out in the end. I have a network of people both at home and in office to help me see through the day. Often women are made to feel guilty when asked questions like this because nobody feels secure enough to say ‘I’m the best mother my children could have or the best CCO an organization could have’. All I can say is, both at my home and my organization I’m accepted with my warts and my moles. 

Plans for a full-length feature film

She is letting it cook in her head so that when the time is right she can plunge into it. “I do toy with the idea every now and then,” she shares.