Leading TV serial maker Leena Gangopadhyay has said she is against being tagged a woman director.
The 52-year-old, who also directed and produced films, said she would rather leave it to the audience to judge whether being a woman contributes to her being more sensitive in her creations.
Gangopadhyay, who had written the script for Bhalo Theko (Take Care), a Goutam Halder-directed film featuring Vidya Balan, also has extremely popular Bengali serials to her credit.
She is also the chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women.
"Being a woman I had to balance both work and duty at home, which I think men usually don't have to. There are no two ways about it. That's about all," Gangopadhyay told PTI.
All that the audience wants is a good, relatable, likeable story that can be penned by either a man or a woman, said Gangopadhyay.
I also did not want any preferential treatment for being a woman. In the 19 years of my eventful journey in the Bengali entertainment industry, I moved from one point to another as I wanted to execute my ideas, transform my dreams, and my creative passion in my works, she said.
Well known as a scriptwriter for TV serials like Ichche Nodee, Punyi Pukur, Keya Patar Nouka, Binni Dhaner Khoi and Ishti Kutum, Gangopadhyay has also co-directed two acclaimed Bengali films Maati and Sanjhbati.
Asked if she believes that women directors are more sensitive in their works than their male counterparts, Gangopadhyay said, “We don't consciously do things with our woman identity in mind. If the audience discovered certain sensitivities in Maati and Sanjhbati and associated it with my feminine identity that is for them to interpret. That is for you to interpret".
Many of her serials have been remade in various languages. She has also written scripts for the Malayalam serial Kudumbavilakku and Tamil serial Bhagya Lakshmi.
"I have worn many hats in my life ever since completing my masters. I had taken the plunge in the entertainment industry which was an extension of my literary career as a writer...as a human, as an individual, and not as a woman solely. But a woman has to be more than equal to the task than a man as she has to tackle many fronts," Gangopadhyay said on Tuesday.
The responsibility as the chairperson of the state commission for women also introduced her to the crises and issues faced by women from different strata of the society.
"Thanks to those who gave me the opportunity to be on the side of distressed women and deal with their various problems. On March 8, International Women's Day, I take a pledge to perform all my roles with equal ease," said Gangopadhyay, one of the busiest producers of TV serials and films in Bengal.
