“We consider Durga as the powerful warrior goddess. When the time comes, she can even come to Shiva’s aid who is unable to destroy the asuras. But will we protect the girl on the street if her name is Durga?” He says he is not a director who can be called a “crowd puller” and his sole purpose is to speak his mind.
“I’m not making films to make someone happy or hurt them. I’m making films for my purpose. It’s not for earning money. If I wanted to do that I would have made a love story with superstars.” The film has been doing the festival rounds and even won accolades such as the Hivos Tiger Award at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam.
“S Durga” released last week in Kerala with the help of a major crowdfunding campaign.
Sasidharan says he does not want his cinema to be restricted to a region.
Despite the cultural differences, he says, the people have one thing in common: the Indian psyche, which he explores in the film.
“We need to correct the problems of our Indian psyche. If you’re staying away from the debate, saying ‘India is great’, ‘we have a great culture’ and what not, then it is fake nationalism,” he says.
“If you are really a nationalist, you need to identify the problems of the nation and try to solve them. And if someone is pointing out those problems, you need to listen. You can disagree and make a counter-argument. But you need to listen,” he adds.
The film will be distributed by Radical Frames and Entertainment Private Limited through VKAAO (a subsidiary of PVR group).
“With respect to the convenience of people, we will have screenings mostly during the weekends. The screenings are currently scheduled for April 6, 7 and 8. Many more screenings will be added further,” he says.