Daughters don the producer’s hat

Though she’s the daughter of renowned filmmaker Gunasekhar, Neelima was never in a hurry to step into films. Growing up, the film set atmosphere wasn’t new to her but she pursued Masters of Arts in Visual Culture in London for better understanding of the crafts.

“I was also the co-producer for Rudhramadhevi (2015),” she beams, adding that by the time she entered the industry there was already a paradigm shift. Neelima points out that women are getting the same respect — on par with men — in the industry.

“There are a lot of women technicians in various crafts now and as the opportunities grow we can see more women at work,” she states, adding that the film industry is a nice place for women to work. Neelima further shares that with more colleges providing filmmaking courses she foresees a lot of girls making their career in films.

“Almost 70 per cent of the interns for her current film are women. And these girls have a strong understanding and knowledge about cinema before coming on to the sets,” Neelima points out.

Neelima who is currently producing Samantha-starrer Shakuntalam, directed by Gunasekhar, feels that she had the passion for filmmaking ever since her father used to narrate stories in her childhood.

“I think that interest slowly developed and made me turn a producer. I also write and develop story ideas, so all this complimented me,” shares Neelima, adding that films are a great place to explore creative opportunities.