We have crafted a unique cinematic language through films: Smriti Mundhra

"We analysed those films, the intentional cinematic language and in what way it was reflecting the country's history and the zeitgeist of the times"

The Romantics (Netflix), a four-part docu-series, captures the cinema and times of Yash Chopra and the eponymous studio he later formed. Ever since it released on February 14, the series has been trending. Over two-and-a-half years, Los Angeles-based director Smriti Mundhra (Indian Matchmaking, A Suitable Girl) trawled through 400 hours of archival material dating back to pre-Partition cinema and pictures and interviewed over 35 people for the series. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar spoke to her about cinema and making a dent in Hollywood. Edited excerpts:

We, as Indians, don’t celebrate our cinema at all. There is always a sense of embarrassment. The