Producer Prerna Arora, whose latest project Pad Man gives a message on menstrual hygiene, says she believes in the kind of cinema that late filmmaker Bimal Roy is known for.
Arora, who spearheads Kriarj Entertainment Pvt ltd, has a knack of backing films with socially relevant subjects. Toilet — Ek Prem Katha was a case in point. “I don’t want to follow the usual path like everyone else. I want to create my own identity because then I feel you can be noticed by people. The film industry is a very competitive field and more than that, I have always believed in Bimal Roy’s school of films.”
She added, “He always backed films like Sujata or Bandini which were socially relevant at that point. I have always been in awe of his style of filmmaking and wanted to follow his path,” she told newspersons in Mumbai.
Arora also said she is a little compassionate and has a soft heart. “First, I strongly feel about the subject. I think I am a little compassionate and have a soft heart. I feel I should be in position where I can reach out to lot of people in my capacity. So when I heard the story of Pad Man from Akshay Kumar, that time I wasn’t moved with the story but I was moved with the reality of it. Menstruation is a relevant subject in women’s day-to-day life and the same was with Toilet — Ek Prem Katha, which dealt with lack of sanitation facilities in India’s urban as well as rural areas. That’s the reason I thought I should back such real and inspiring stories.”
What kind of a social change does she foresee after Pad ManIJ “When men will watch this movie either with their daughters or wife or girlfriend, I think they will realise the hardships women go through during that phase and they will really value what women do and how they take care of their family, as generally, women don’t express their problems openly. So these things moved me personally and I feel people will also relate to it.”
Arora is also planning a remake of the critically acclaimed movie Raat Aur Din (1967), which starred Nargis Dutt, Pradeep Kumar and Feroz Khan.
On that, she said: “I am in discussion with Abbas-Mustan for that film. We would love to collaborate with each other. In Raat Aur Din, I hope to look at the complexity of a woman’s suppressed feelings.”
The Dehradun-girl forayed into the world of production with Rustom. At present, she is working on close to eight films, including Pari, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, Kedarnath, Fanne Khan and Batti Gul Meter Chalu.
Doesn’t she feel the pressure with this kind of work loadIJ Said Arora, “I think I have just lost touch with myself.”