Scriptwriter and novelist Gajra Kottary’s latest book Girls Don’t Cry ’ was launched recently at Atta Galatta. The book offers a wide canvas on the patterns of daughter-mother relationships in a patriarchal society.
The Indian Television Academy Award winner spells out the reason behind the selection of the title for her new novel. “ Girls Don't Cry focuses on the lives of three generations of women. Women have high emotional quotients. They look after the family and, at the same time, balance their professional life. When you face an emotional crisis, then it’s absolutely fine to cry, but what you have to consider is what made you cry and ask if you are willing to overcome it. In my opinion, women have that ability. This is what inspired me to choose the title.”
The story weaves through the eyes of a young girl called Amala and gets intricate when she comes to know about knotty family secrets and harsh truths about the much-revered men in her family through her grandmother. Gajra states: “Women are complicated and the friendship and love between mothers and daughters are profound. They have a unique relationship with each other. Girls Don’t Cry is my tribute to them.”
The author, who is also the scriptwriter of the famous Indian TV soap Balika Vadhu , admits that most times she deals with women characters in conflicting situations.
Talking about the myriad portrayals of conflicting situations between daughter-mother relationships in her new book, she says, “Daughters think that their mother’s life is boring, sad, full of work and that they don’t know to have fun. Daughters don’t want to have a life like their mothers. At the same time mothers don’t realise that what her daughter desires is the same she desired when she was at her age. Her daughter too wants to be respected and find true love.”
On her focus on women-centric writings, Gajra says, “yes, my stories are women-centric, especially my early works. I felt I was being myself and expressing a lot from the heart. Above all, I’m happy doing that.”
From her experience in writing for fiction, Gajra talks about the scope and limitations of novel adaptations for serials. “We need good content and literature offers us the best, because it is a fact that our stories are getting jaded. The biggest limitation is we can’t make mega serials out of them. The watching habits of audience are deep rooted on mega serials. We can make novel adaptations for serials in an experimental basis. There are limitations and that is why I would prefer making a movie on my novel instead of a TV serial.”
