Sai Paranjpye Quotes

I was very fat then, and Alkazi would scold me about my chubbiness. ‘An actor must look trim,’ he would tell me. ‘You will never get good roles if you don’t watch your weight!’ I was least interested in good roles. Writing and directing were my passions. But I did not tell him that. I kept nodding my head and agreed with him. I did not lose any weight, though. (sarcastic remark about her time training at the National School of Drama in Delhi, in the years 1962/63)

I was shocked by the response to my adaptation of Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers, about a 50yish man who resolves to have flings with women. The audience roared with laughter but after the show, several people whose opinion I counted on, said, ‘This was not expected of you Sai. How can you bring up the topic of adulterous affairs?’

I set out to assist two amazing filmmakers Sai Paranjpye and Kalpana Lajmi, both torchbearers of qualitative cinema. Through them I had a solid foundation to understand cinema and its intricacies. With Sai Paranjpye I learnt to use everyday humour, and with Kalpana Lajmi I learnt how to envisage a grand mise-en-scène. (After completing a course in film appreciation at FTII Pune)

I used my imagination to make up for what I lacked in physical swiftness

I guess I was born with a grin, I have this attitude or aptitude to look on the bright side. Pollyanna always looked on the bright side too. Somewhere, this must have had an unknown effect on me. We Indians tend to take life too seriously. We constantly pontificate and get philosophical about every little thing. Having fun is frowned upon, it’s almost sinful. I have done serious things, but I will not let go of that thread that keeps me bubbling along and happy and merry.

I always like to maintain that I am a writer first and then a director. But unfortunately, I am not known as much as a writer. I am a first-class writer and a second-class director.

Women actually have a fantastic sense of humour, better than men. Men tend to have crass and predictable humour. Women see human foibles and minute details, and they can laugh at eccentricities and peculiarities. They are also more understanding. Go ahead and quote me and let me make some enemies.

Wit, warmth and wisdom define Sai as a person and her writing is unfailingly pithy, perceptive and pulls no punches. (as a comment about Sai Paranjpye and her English Autobiography - A Patchwork Quilt: A Collage of My Creative Life)

Many filmmakers. In Malayalam, I love the films of Bharathan, Padmarajan and Sathyan Anthikkad, among others. Then, there are films of Balu Mahendra, and of many directors in Tamil. In Bollywood, Mukul Anand is an all-time favourite. I keep watching his films. I love films of Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and of course, Sai Paranjpe. Once on Twitter, there was a question – ‘which filmmaker’s universe would you like to live in?’ – for me, it would be Sai Paranjpe’s. (as an answer to who are some of his favourite directors)

I am sure I speak for all my sisters when I say that we prefer to be known as directors, not just as women directors. To the eternal question that I am plagued with — what is the main disadvantage of being a woman director — my answer is: being endlessly harangued with this very question