Gender diversity healthy for business of cinema: Priti

Mumbai : Heaping praise on female directors in Bollywood, Priti Rathi Gupta, one of the producers of the forthcoming film "Karwaan", says that gender diversity is healthy for the business of cinema.

"We can see so many successful film directors in recent times... whether it is Meghna Gulzar or Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, they are bringing some interesting stories in the world of cinema. It is the time that more women producers also come into the picture because gender diversity is healthy for business," Gupta told IANS.

"I think it is important to bring the female gaze in storytelling because it shows a different perspective of stories. The way the female director treats a film, a screenplay writer writes it, the kind of stories get commissioned by women are different and interesting," she added.

She took the example of "Waiting" -- her first film as a producer. It was directed by Anu Menon and featured Kalki Koechlin.

She said: "That was an all women crew...not by design, but by co-incidence. I believe the way the film came out on-screen and we tried to elaborate the emotional quotation of the story, happened because it is shown through a different lens. I am not talking about right or wrong, I am saying different."

Gupta has produced "Karwaan" along with Ronnie Screwvala. It features Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar.

Sharing her future plans, she said she wants to go to a film school as she wishes to get into film direction.

"Such a study will help me to learn more about the art of storytelling in the form of cinema. In fact, I am planning my next project on an international platform. I am planning to take Indian stories to the international market, approaching Hollywood studios to transcend all boundaries.

"You know that is how we can actually work on the style of storytelling," she added.

"Karwaan" is releasing on August 3.