Ranganayaki, directed by Dayal Padmanabhan has been chosen for screening at the Panorama Section of 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), scheduled to be held in Goa from November 20.
Dayal, known for making socially relevant films, has dealt with the plight of a rape victim in his latest venture, Ranganayaki .
His earlier films dealt with issues such as capital punishment in Haggada Kone, suicide in Actor and greed in Aa Karala Ratr i.
While Haggada Kone won got the Karnataka State Film Awards and was screened in film festivals across the globe, Actor was selected for screening at the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes).
Dayal says he was moved by 2012’s Nirbhaya case and decided to explore how the victim can deal with the trauma. That is the subject of Ranganayaki. Dayal is also planning to create a Ranganayaki universe with films based on woman empowerment.
“I was disturbed by the Nirbhaya incident. Unfortunately, because of what is being depicted, either in films or serials, it has been ingrained in our minds that the only option left for the victim is to end her life. She has been ‘shamed and is not acceptable any more’ in society. That is when I thought why should she feel she is in the wrong? I decided to approach the issue differently — how the victim deals with the situation and society, without feeling guilty about what has happened. The result is Ranganayaki, ” says the director.
Dayal feels, “Rape is a serious issue and most women will not talk about it. Just imagine the many women who have gone through this ordeal, and are suffering silently. If she decides to speak out, will the society accept her? Ranganayaki searches for these answers.”
The film stars Aditi Prabhudeva, MG Srinivas, Trivikram , Shivaram, Suchendra Prasad and Veena Sundar. Actor Naveen Krishna has penned the dialogues for the film.
Ranganayaki is scheduled to be released on Kannada Rajyotsava on November 1.
As a filmmaker Dayal is in a habit of questioning the system. He is known to tap the doors of judiciary to get justice. He even challenged the film awards, filed a petition against multiplexes for charging exorbitant entry fee and questioned the polls held for Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
His recent fight is on conflict of interest involving jury of selection panel for National Film Awards. Dayal filed a petition with Karnataka High Court against the National Film Awards stating that one of the members of the jury was affiliated to a film nominated for the awards and as per regulations a jury member or Chairman should not be associated in any manner to the films submitted for the awards. The court asked the Film Awards authorities to complete its on-going probe in the link of jury with the film with in eight weeks. Directorate has also appealed Dayal to approach Arbitration.
“In a way it is a moral victory for my fight against injustice”, he smiles.
