‘Lokah’ is an example — we are moving in a positive direction, says Chinmayi

Singer Chinmayi Sripada said that the film industry has seen many positive changes in recent times. She pointed out the film Lokah: Chapter One – Chandra (featuring Kalyani Priyadarshan) as an example. In an interview to DT Next, Chinmayi said that women are now entering film-writing, and that Lokah is an example of that. She pointed out that writer Shanthi Balachandran was part of the script-writing of Lokah.

When asked what changes have happened in the film field since she entered it at a young age, Chinmayi replied: “Definitely many changes have taken place.”

She said that earlier it was common to see rape jokes, or mainstream male lead actors treating women as objects and glorifying that — such things are less seen in films now. She added: “At that time people perhaps did not fully understand the consequences of what they were doing. Maybe there was no ill-intention. But the after-effects were harmful.”

She indicated that over time, actors as well as people behind the scenes in mainstream cinema have become more aware of the dialogues they use and the messages they send. Because they know that the audience today will not accept everything uncritically.

Chinmayi said that today many women are coming into film writing. She mentioned films like Lokah as examples. She expressed happiness that anti-caste films are getting more space nowadays. She noted: “All these are important subjects that need to be discussed. To be honest, we still haven’t seen many films that truly change our way of thinking. But we are moving in a good direction.”