For Patralekhaa, it’s a season of firsts — from turning producer with Toaster and embracing motherhood with daughter Parvati Paul Rao, to now headlining her first women-led film, Heer Sara Aur Pondicherry. “I was sold even before reading it,” she laughs. The actor says she was surprised to learn that the movie revolved around women and had no love angle.
While female actors get to play varied roles, Patralekhaa feels that “women are always portrayed as somebody’s something”. “Love seems to be the centre of our being, at least in movies. While we have so many shades, I don’t see that reflected quite often.” Stories centred on female friendships, she says, are even rarer. “Those parts are not written. In my 10-year-long career, there have only been a couple of films that have been female-oriented,” she shares.
Patralekhaa. Pics/AFP, Instagram, Youtube
Heer Sara Aur Pondicherry, which also stars Maanvi Gagroo, is a slice-of-life road-trip drama. At the heart of the film, Patralekhaa says, is the idea of women holding space for each other through life’s messier chapters. “As you grow older, friendships change. Making friends [has become] harder now because your trust has been broken, you’ve seen life.”
So, Patralekhaa is using her production house Kampa Films to back stories with a soul and also give newcomers the opportunity that she and actor and husband Rajkummar Rao once received at the start of their careers. “We want to make entertaining films that we like to watch. [And create opportunities for others]. Raj and I had no background. Somebody gave us that chance.”
Maanvi Gagroo
However, her optimism dips when the conversation turns to pay parity and gender politics in the film industry. She admits that things are unlikely to change anytime soon. “Films are more hero-led. The priority is [still] to get that one hero and make the film around him.”
Navigating postpartum
Patralekhaa, who gave birth to daughter Parvati Paul Rao on November 15 last year, says social media trolling made her realise how little people understand postpartum experiences. “They don’t understand how abruptly a woman’s life shifts and changes. What we need is awareness,” she says, adding, “I feel happy when women actors go out and speak about it. Every small drop matters.”