Kiran Rao recalls the time she was mansplained while working as an AD on the sets of a film. “…I’ve been told I don’t know certain things because I’m a woman.” Hindi Film News

Filmmaker Kiran Rao has received a lot of honest reviews from both prominent actors and audiences for her recent film Laapataa Ladies. Kiran started his career in the film industry as an assistant director and has now opened up about his experience working on the sets of ‘Lagaan’. She also shed light on some of the behind-the-scenes incidents where women are expected not to take on certain responsibilities due to their size compared to men.

In a recent interview, Kiran Rao said that she was treated very well even though it was really tough to take her first step in the industry. She worked with people who valued her opinion and safety. Her first film was Lagaan starring Aamir Khan. According to her, the film’s production company valued her as an assistant director, but she rarely did otherwise. “I was told that assistant directors were ko pan ke dabbe mangwane ke rie laka gaya tha, but they were not seen as professionals with certain tasks. Not everyone was like that, but Lagaan really set the standard in terms of how crew members were treated. So I think I was very blessed. I didn’t experience any discrimination,” Kiran told Times Now. told. She says she hasn’t had any negative experiences and she has become more aware of it as she has moved on in the industry.

She encountered some kind of discrimination in her next set post ‘Lagaan’. She had to work with other production companies and navigate “broism” (a boys’ club on set) on set. She encountered this AD as her first AD, as other large departments that required physical strength were often led by men. “I was often mansplained or had obviously discriminatory things said to me because I was a woman. They would tell me that I didn’t know certain things because I was a woman.” Kiran pointed out. She recalled an incident during her working hours when the DOP lashed out at her when she asked how long her shooting would take. Kiran said, “I know he can say that because I’m a woman and everyone’s kind of like, ‘Oh my god, she’s just nagging.’ Because there’s a peer norm. In fact, it was my job to move the movie along.” And complete the shot.”

She also talked about more subtle ways of discrimination, including the so-called assumption that women don’t know because it’s technical. There are some events in her career that she felt were unprecedented. There are very few times when a woman’s voice cannot be heard in a room. To ignore the presence of women in this group, she began mentioning things that are considered “men’s domain” related to technology, budgets, and money. “Women have to work twice as hard in the room to assert the fact that we know what we’re talking about. And mansplaining is very common. “We’re always told things as if you don’t know it,” she concluded.

Kiran Rao also mentioned an incident in which an industry bigwig was furious with her. She was an AD and was on the set of a commercial with a very popular actress. Preparations for filming were completed and the actress was reading a newspaper. Kiran approaches her and tells her, “I need to get this shot.” However, she complained about Kiran to the production and said, “Look how she talks to me,” but the producers told her that it was her job to Dealt with celebrities.