I Don't Think Stereotyping Boys As Failures Is Harmful, Says Bad Girl Director Varsha Bharath

(MENAFN- IANS) Chennai, Sep 3 (IANS) Director Varsha Bharath, whose coming-of-age drama, 'Bad Girl', is to hit screens across India on September 5 this year, says that she doesn't think stereotyping boys as failures is harmful.

During a pre-release event of the film, which was held recently, the makers of the film showcased a teaser which has a scene in which a lady teacher is seen chiding a girl student saying, "You walk like a boy, you talk like a boy and you fail like a boy."

When IANS caught up with the director for an interview and pointed out that this scene was stereotyping boys as failures, the director replied, "No, that is stereotyping girls actually..."

Point out to her that the scene and the dialogue were actually doing the contrary to what she claimed as the statement "You fail like a boy" was stereotyping boys as failures and she replies, "In my class, this is my experience. I have always failed in class and I have always been told I'm like a boy."

So there is a stereotype that boys are associated with failures?

She replies, "Girls, out of fear, will study."

The point is that a stereotype exists? "I don't think that that is a stereotype that is harmful," she opines and goes on to give an explanation about the stereotypes that she thinks are harmful.

"So, what kind of stereotype is harmful? There is a power dynamic in society. If you were to say women are bad drivers. That is a stereotype that is harmful. We live in a patriarchal world. And this is being spoken by the teacher. The teacher is stereotyping the student. It is very important when we are reading a film to understand who is saying it. Whether the filmmaker is saying it or a character is speaking it. A character is speaking it from her prejudice. The character is prejudiced. This teacher has her prejudice and she is stereotyping boys as failures. I am not stereotyping boys as failures," says the director of 'Bad Girl'.

"I have always been a really bad student. I have gotten thrown out of school for being a really bad student. Every time when failed students were made to stand out, I would be the only girl standing with them. Even those not so smart girl students, who would study only as much as I would, will be hardworking and somehow manage to pass. They will not fail. They will have fear and devotion. That is why it was always very lonely for me to be a bad student. So, it comes from that place. Boys at least have company when they are failing in school," she further explains.

It may be recalled that a teaser of the film, which was released in January this year, sparked a major debate on Brahmin bashing in cinema with one section claiming the film to be a bold and refreshing film and another claiming that it was indulging in Brahmin bashing.

The censor board has cleared the film for release with a U/A certificate.

Produced by acclaimed filmmaker Vetri Maaran, the film is being presented by Anurag Kashyap under the banner of Grass Root Film Company.

The film has won accolades on the international film festival circuit. It won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam (IFFR)and the Young Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 40th Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival in Spain.

It also won the Student Choice Award at the Indian Film Festival of Toulouse in France.

Additionally, the film has been officially selected and screened at prestigious festivals including the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Bad Girl features an ensemble cast including Anjali Sivaraman, Shanthi Priya, Hridhu Haroon, TeeJay Arunasalam, Sashank Bommireddipalli, and Saranya Ravichandran.

On the technical front, it has cinematography by Preetha Jayaraman Jagadeesh Ravi and Prince Anderson. Editing for the film is by Radha Sridhar and music is by Amit Trivedi.

Costume Design for the film is by Shruthi Manjari while sound design is by Vinoth Thanigasalam and Sound mixing is by Prathap. VFX for the film has been handled by R Hariharasuthan (Lorven).

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