I Am Optimistic About How Conversations Shape The World: Sona Mohapatra

Whether it is as a crusader of the Indian #MeToo movement or fighting those who censure her for 바카라�exposing her body바카라�, Sona Mohaptra is as known for rabble-rousing as for her resonant vocals. The documentary Shut Up Sona traces her trajectory as a musician and outspoken woman to highlight gender fault lines in India and invokes luminaries from across centuries to challenge patriarchal structures. In a conversation at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2020, where the film globally premiered, Sona talks about why, despite the relentless exhortations, she refuses to shut up.

Why did you produce a film about yourself?

A lot of people in India, without even seeing the film, jibed, 바카라�Oh, she made a film on herself?바카라� But then, who apart from me would make such a film? Women now are taking charge of their own narratives. I was tired of missing out on opportunities in the entertainment industry that men have monopolised. They say, 바카라�We have given you this opportunity. You should be grateful.바카라� I didn바카라�t want to be grateful anymore, so I decided to take charge of my own destiny.

I realised that it was not just me who was losing out on work for being opinionated. I am a numbers-oriented person; I don바카라�t just operate on feelings. So I collated data and the results were shocking: over time, the representation of women in the entertainment industry is going down. Women never win reality shows. Out of every 100 songs on the radio or in mainstream releases, around eight have a female voice. Romantic duets don바카라�t have enough lines sung by women. In the seven years of the NH7 Weekender music festival, the representation of female voices has not more than eight per cent.

I felt like I was choking as I was not getting enough opportunities to sing바카라�what do you do if you want to express yourself as an artiste? That바카라�s why I got in touch with Deepti Gupta (the director of Shut Up Sona), who directed two of my most interesting music videos in the past decade바카라�Aaja Ve and Dil Jale. We set out on this journey and 300 hours of footage later, this documentary came about.

You were working on the film for three years. How did you feel on seeing the final cut?

It is difficult for me to be objective, though I must admit that one thing bothered me바카라�I thought there would be more of my music in the film, especially footage of concerts. There is that vain side of me바카라�about 200,000 people to come to my shows, but the industry and magazine covers don바카라�t realise what reach musicians have in India. I wanted to see more of that, but I gave complete liberty to Deepti to make it her way. As the protagonist, I need to step away from the movie.

Shut Up Sona seems like a travelogue, featuring locales as diverse as Chittorgarh, Vrindavan and Warangal. How did that happen?

I started out with the idea of writing a love letter to my country바카라�a country that is not comfortable with my emancipation but hopefully getting there. India has some of the most generous people I have ever met. At the Mira temple in Vrindavan, the custodians live on alms and hardly have any resources. Yet the generosity with which they hosted, fed and welcomed us the five times we went there was extraordinary. I haven바카라�t seen that kind of generosity anywhere in the world. The film helped me reconnect with that love for my country after a long time. India is amazing바카라�it lives in so many ages, so many different universes and they all coexist, it바카라�s crazy. The journey of making the film has been the greatest dose of inspiration for me to get back to my music and create more art.

As a performer, you have been in the public gaze. But how was it having a camera trained on you all the time, even in your private spaces?

Not very easy, but Deepti already had the privilege of a very intimate place in my life. And we realised that every time there was a crew, it would not be the same, especially because the film provides a window into my personal life in terms of my interactions with my husband, Ram Sampath, who is very shy. Pursuing someone for three years and shooting a documentary is a difficult process. Of course, there were times when things were too personal to pick up a camera and record.

 Sona Mohapatra with Deepti Gupta (left), director, Shut Up Sona

Documentaries in the past rarely caught India바카라�s attention, but these days, people seek more authentic storytelling. As an artist who is active on social media and connects with her audience on a daily basis, I noticed that my fans love the behind-the-scenes when I바카라�m touring바카라�sometimes much more than the fancily shot music videos. Some of the Facebook live sessions I do unplugged give us millions of views despite the terrible audio quality. On the other hand, you might have to pay to promote a snazzy music video. People across the world are seeking authentic stories, so it바카라�s a great time to put out such a film. Khud hi bol rahi hoon, how modest I am (laughs).

Your interaction with the caretakers of the Nizamuddin Dargah is one of the most poignant in the film. How do you see that sequence in light of a Sufi foundation criticising the music video of Tori Surat?

I visited the dargah before the controversy happened. That might not come across clearly in the film because the structure is not linear. If I had visited after, it might have been difficult to enter the shrine, who knows바카라� I바카라�m not sure. I found the dargah바카라�s custodians among the most gracious, generous hosts. They talked about how in 800 years no woman has sung in the shrine, but after spending five hours there, chatting with them, when I asked, 바카라�Thoda gaa loon main (Can I sing?)바카라�, they hesitated, but they let me sing바카라�and not only did they let me, they joined along. It was such a beautiful act of love.

You extensively draw upon the legacies of Khusro, Kabir and Mirabai in the film. Who are the other artistes who inspire you?

I have always been impressed and inspired by artistes who have gone beyond entertainment. Things of beauty, of course, last forever, but the beauty that helps you, makes you think, creates an impact in terms of social change impresses me most. We have artistes like these across the world and across times, such as Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone, George Michael and T.M. Krishna. Mira was a rebel rock star preaching egalitarianism in a society where caste was deeply entrenched. Khusro helped unite India linguistically. Kabir바카라� I could talk endlessly about them. We explored these artistes at such length that we can cut out 2-3 more films from the footage we have.

Throughout the film, you point out instances of sexism in society. What were the formative influences in your feminist thinking?

I have had no academic inputs or read any feminist literature. My value and belief system is instinctively driven by justice and fairness. If I see anything that feels unfair to me, it drives me mad. So it바카라�s not just about women바카라�it바카라�s very obvious that they hold the shorter end of the stick바카라�I fight for the underdog and I바카라�ve always seen women as underdogs. While growing up, my mother, an accomplished scholar who worked all her life and raised three daughters, was always bossed over. She didn바카라�t have the kind of freedom you would think she should have had. So every time I pick up the gauntlet for gender rights, my mother definitely is a driving force, but it is the idea of fairness and justice that drives me more than anything else.

In the film, there are various sequences where female fans throng you and take selfies with you. Is it mostly women who come up to you in public?

While a lot of women, both young and old, connect with me, many young men also give me love바카라�though it바카라�s mostly younger men, not so much men above 40. For instance, a waiter in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, approached me when I was having coffee with my band. I had been received with lot of pomp and splendour by officials and dignitaries, but he felt free enough바카라�and beautifully so바카라�to come up to me and say, 바카라�Ma바카라�am, I love the way you dress. I tell my sister, you should also wear a sari with a shirt like Sona Mohapatra does.바카라� He, a 24-year-old, talked to me about fashion so freely because he follows me on Facebook. I wouldn바카라�t have imagined it 10 years ago in India because there바카라�s a deep-rooted caste system where you바카라�re not expected to go up to a star and talk to her. But social media and the internet are connecting India to a more egalitarian mindset. After I sang the anti-dowry Mujhe kya bechega rupaiya (Money can바카라�t sell me) on Satyamev Jayate, men from small towns wrote to me about how moved they were and how they were reconsidering the way they treated the women in their lives. I get equal love from both sexes바카라�and equal hate. Just because I stand for gender rights does not mean that all women support me.

You frequently engage with critics and trolls on social media. Does it detract from your art or does it inspire you?

It energises me because I바카라�m deeply connected to society and the grassroots. I바카라�m not saying all of India lives on Twitter바카라�it바카라�s a very limited snapshot. But I also travel a lot around the country and am in touch with a lot of universes, which inform me. I think engaging with your environment makes you a better artist. Of course, sometimes you need isolation. I put out a lot of music every year, no matter what. I don바카라�t rely on Bollywood and that takes a lot of effort. So I take a break once in a while and disconnect from the press and social media.

Shut Up Sona points out a lot of things that are wrong with Indian society. In such a scenario, what gives you hope?

I have always been optimistic about how conversations shape the world. People ask me, 바카라�Don바카라�t you get exhausted fighting trolls?바카라� Despite the acid attack and rape threats, I continue to speak out because if we don바카라�t let the sh*t come to the top, it won바카라�t get cleared.

Things are blowing up around the world바카라�we are at a flashpoint on many issues. When we completed a year of the #MeToo movement, everybody said it was unsuccessful as none of the perpetrators was punished. My doctor, an amazing woman, said, 바카라�Kuch to nahin hua (Nothing happened).바카라� I replied, 바카라�What did you expect? People would be paraded to jail in handcuffs like in a Bollywood film?바카라� That바카라�s not how things happen바카라�change takes time. Thanks to #MeToo, a conversation is going on and people have become conscious about right and wrong behaviour, and that there would be consequences of their actions. That in itself is great! I relentlessly fought the campaign to get Anu Malik out of Indian Idol and he was finally chucked out. So things are changing바카라�it could happen faster, but it바카라�s not all doom and gloom. The film is a part of this change.