Shonali Bose: ‘Need to go back to my indie roots as I turn 60’

Shonali Bose

For filmmaker Shonali Bose, 60 is the perfect time to return to her old self. To her indie roots, as she puts it. Even as she, along with co-director Nilesh Maniyar, is taking their documentary, A Fly on the Wall, to film festivals, Bose is simultaneously setting the stage for her indie film. "I'm turning 60 this year. I felt I needed to go back to my indie roots, and by that, I don't only mean budget but where I won't have any creative interference," she begins. Though tight-lipped about the film, Bose shares an integral detail. "It's based in the North-east," she says.

In her mind, the National Award-winning director - who previously helmed The Sky Is Pink (2019) and a segment in Modern Love: Mumbai (2022) - has a blueprint of how she wants the next phase of her career to shape up. "I will work for free on the indie film. Also, there is a studio film that I'm hopeful will happen. Every year I want to make one indie film and a commercial film."

Studio-backed films take time as they depend on stars' availability. But the director points out that Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar kept their stardom away as they shaped The Sky is Pink, a life-affirming tale of a couple whose daughter passed away. "Priyanka told me later that her performance was inspired by getting into my skin [and by my journey after] losing my son, Ishan. Nilesh [co-writer] and I spent three days with Priyanka where she wanted to discuss the script. When we came out of a meeting, I had [multiple] missed calls from Siddharth [Roy Kapur, producer]. That's when I realised we were gone for 10 hours [in one session]!" Though the film was lauded, Bose reveals Chopra was dejected by the response to her performance. "People close to her felt it was too subtle. She felt bad. After she went to the US, I got a video call from Nick [Jonas, Chopra's husband]. He said, ‘I watched the film and Priyanka is outstanding!' I asked him to hand over the phone to Priyanka. When I asked her how she was feeling, she was so happy. The US audience's response was similar to that of Nick."

Ode to my friend

Shonali Bose with Chika Kapadia

Bose is currently taking A Fly on the Wall, a documentary she helmed with co-director Nilesh Maniyar, to film festivals. It charts the last days of Chika Kapadia, the duo's friend, who chose physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2022, following a terminal cancer diagnosis.