A good story on a relevant topic is what matters

Poonam Dhillon has every reason to be proud of herself – the actress’ peers have all but disappeared from the silver screen, but she is still going strong. She’s busy shooting films and series one after another. Her upcoming Ek Kori Prem Katha has a woman-oriented subject — the poignant film takes a courageous stance against the archaic tradition of testing a woman’s virginity. The recently released trailer has gotten widespread attention, and has become a subject of discussion on social media.

Excerpts from an interview:

Tell us the gist of the film

“It’s a meaningful story... relevant in today’s times. It’s the story of a young woman who plays the daughter-in-law of my character. The two women belong to different generations, and have grown up in different environments; so their thinking is very different from each other. While the older woman is conservative and follows tradition, the younger one belongs to the present time, and defies tradition. She wants to set right what she feels is not correct in today’s times. The two women have a clash of views, but they ultimately join hands and fight together.

A lot of women-oriented films are being made of late...

Yes, more and more producers and directors are exploring such topics. It’s nice to see woman-centric films. But I think it’s a cycle.

Women-oriented subjects were well-represented on celluloid in the old days too — Waheeda Rahman, Meena Kumari and Madhubala all had strong roles in woman-oriented stories. Then, male-oriented subjects and action films caught the attention of audiences. And now, slowly, again, meaningful films are coming back.” Actually, it doesn’t matter whether the subject is male- or female-oriented. What is important is that a good story on some relevant topic be told.

“It’s nice to see woman-centric films. But I think it’s a cycle. Women-oriented subjects were well-represented on celluloid in the old days too — Waheeda Rahman, Meena Kumari and Madhubala all had strong roles in woman-oriented stories. Then, male-oriented subjects and action films caught the attention of audiences. And now, slowly, again, meaningful films are coming back.”