Filmmaker Tahira Kashyap is known for her earnest depiction of women in the most hilarious manner in her books. ‘The 12 Commandments of Being A Woman’ and ‘The 7 Sins of Being a Mother’. Speaking in a recent interview, the author-director said, “I’m a compulsive storyteller. It was a part of my growing up process. All that I used to do as a kid was tell stories. I’ve loved telling stories, be it whatever medium - theatre, radio, podcasts, novels, short films and now feature. I have inherently been a storyteller all my life and I absolutely love it.”
She said the realisation that she had what it takes to be a professional storyteller came later in life after she worked multiple jobs. Tahira said, “Everyone has their journey. We do four-five things, and then we realise that this is what I want to do. A huge section of people knows what they want to do ever since they are young. But I was lost for most of my life. I picked various jobs - in the corporate sector, teaching, radio and events - and after a point, I realised whenever I was involved with a creative job or storytelling, I would really excited about it.”
Tahira said she made her first short film ‘Toffee’ in 2017 with the help of her husband, Ayushmann Khurrana, who served as a producer on the project. She said, “I borrowed money from my husband to make my first short film, about which I was very conscious. I knew this is what I wanted to be but I needed a sort of push. I’m very grateful for those little openings. But after a point, you are on your own.”
After directing the short film, Tahira said there was a sense of doubt, but her “big moment of realisation” came when her work was appreciated at various international film festivals, including Cinekid International Film Festival, Amsterdam, Bahamas International Film Festival and MAMI, and later picked by streamer Eros Now. She said, “Once I made the film I was really sceptical, but to my surprise it got picked up at various festivals and by Eros, so I got to return the entire money to my initial producer. I was debt free. That was my big moment of realisation. Now, there is a lot of acceptance towards myself.”
