Sai Paranjpye at Idea Exchange: ‘When film censors feel they have the power to negate something with a pen or a stamp, it’s often misused’

Sai Paranjpye on realism in her stories, censorship, pushing Farooq Shaikh and Naseeruddin Shah to do the unpredictable and why strong scripts make good films. The conversation was moderated by Anuradha Mascarenhas , Senior Editor, The Indian Express.

Anuradha Mascarenhas: You have often been described as an optimist and your films were undeniably ahead of their time. So in the context of today’s cinema, do you feel that contemporary filmmakers are using their platform effectively to create thought-provoking films?

I see the good things in life. Of course, I see the bad things too but I feel that the good outweighs the bad and that’s why I say my cup is never half empty but half full. I try to spread this and if something I have written can bring a smile to someone’s face, bas, I have