Idea was to address concerns about women of certain age in society: Pankaj Kapur on 'Dopehri'

Veteran actor Pankaj Kapur believes that the portrayal of older women in cinema may have evolved but the reality is different with society being unkind to them and often abandoning them too.

The actor has come out with novella "Dopehri" that presents the life of Amma Bi, an elderly widow who lives alone in her haveli in Lucknow. She eventually takes in a lodger, Sabiha, who then transforms her life.

Through the book, Kapur has touched upon some larger themes, focusing on the plight of elderly women in society and how they are neglected by the people around them.

"It was a desire that people start thinking about people around themselves, especially the elders and how those people should be paid attention to and should be given recognition. If they are not been able, then pave a way so that they can on their own recognise their abilities and talents. The idea was to address concerns of women of a certain age," Kapur told PTI in an interview here.

The actor says when he wrote the story, his concerns were about the standing of women in society and how they have just been limited to motherly figures.

"We have travelled a little path when it comes to girl child but we still have not addressed the problem that women of this age group - 60 and 65 or 50 plus age. They are not yet exposed to today's lifestyle and brought into the mainstream of life. What about them?
"My concerns were why don't we look upon lives of this age group of people and find ways and means of engaging them and making them central part of the society and at the same time making them realise their own abilities and talents."
"I have heard NGOs work towards old people, looking after them etc but not in terms of people being engaged with their talents or trying to find out their abilities and talent and bringing them into the mainstream life."
"Today, they (filmmakers) are thinking and writing different kinds of characters. There is a movement in terms of cinema, story telling but not about women who have had no identity in life."
"It was originally written as a film, the idea was that of a film because if you read the novella it is very visual, the way it moves. The idea is to make it into a film or a short web-series but film is preferable I will be able to tell the story in a compact way. Let's see how it works."
He further says, that if he is able to find a producer, the film "will be done in no time."