EXCLUSIVE | 'Thengappali' director Vandana Menon: 'Didn't think the film would get such a good reaction'

Filmmaker Vanadana’s Menon’s Thengappali is the true story of tribal women in Odisha who stood up against the timber up in order to save the forest – their home. The film was screened at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) this year. And Menon got candid in an exclusive interview with Firstpost about everything related to the film.

On the thought of the film

So Vivek, Devashish and I, who have made the film, we were doing films on human rights, conservations, and a lot of other alternative narratives since 2017. We were always on the lookout for stories at grassroots level, which show different ways and perspectives on how to tackle a specific problem that is universal in some ways. We were collaborating with an organization called Vasundhara which is based in Odisha, they do a lot of work related to the Forrest Rights Act in the state. There are a not of indigenous communities that are fighting for limelight in Odisha. And we heard about a village where these women stay, and how they decide to tackle the timber mafia and fight for the Forrest Rights Act simultaneously. This is just when India went into a lockdown.

On global appeal and praises for the film

I don’t know about appeal and praises but we did want people to look at the other perspectives about the issues that are very relevant and urban today. I feel these are universal problems, it’s all about how you tackle it. I didn’t think it would get such a good reaction. That’s been great actually.

On the toughest part while shooting the film

(Laughs) The toughest part was going on patrolling with these women. It was very hot in Odisha and Vivek and I were patrolling for hours in the forest. The women went patrolling once in the evening and once in the morning. The men went for patrolling in the night. We went one night with the men but our focus was on women. We were running with them, that was the toughest part. Also, mentally, to be able to be in that frame of mind while shooting and also keep up with them, to have these conversations in the forest, it was tough. We did it for about four times in two days.

On any changes in her as a person

This was the last film the three of us did. Covid-19 came in and we couldn’t have gone with the camera and shoot. This film is very special in that sense also since this was the last film we did. Personally, being a woman and walking around with these women, hearing their stories about how they are taking on some big people and demanding their rights, was really really inspiring. It’s always inspiring to watch stories after which a change takes place. It has transformed all of us over the course in these years quite a lot. It doesn’t have to be a big brouhaha change that happens, even the small things can add up to make a big change. Thengappali was actually a full stop before the pandemic hit. Due to the pandemic, no other film could happen after Thengappali. So this rounded up everything we had been doing since 2017 and it gave us a lot of hope.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.