Exclusive: We are from Namma Bengaluru and it’s great to represent India at Cannes: Shruthi Raju

Actress and filmmaker Shruthi Raju is thrilled that her short film, What’s Up With Indian Men, will be showcased at the ongoing 75^th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.A combination of comedy, family drama and satire, the movie depicts the journey of a girl who has returned from abroad with marriage being the next chapter in her life. The movie, almost 15 minutes, was shot in Bengaluru and is an adaptation of a play. “It’s an Indian English film with a completely international appeal. It is personal, yet universal, and reflects changing traditions,” says Shruthi.Looking back at her experience with the play, she reflects, “Many of the plays staged in cities are American and British adaptations and sometimes end up looking contrived. So, when we staged What’s Up With Indian Men, we thought let’s be us and portray today’s India.”She further adds, “Compared to our other plays, I wouldn’t claim that this is our best writing. But every time we’ve performed it, we’ve had unflinching, intimate fun with the audience. Though we have been staging it since 2012, the audience has evolved a lot over the years and so have we. So turning it into a short film seemed like the next ideal step.”Of course, the shift from theatre to filmmaking came with its fair share of challenges. “While theatre is more fun, filmmaking is more technical. Moreover, we aren’t really filmy people or know how to manoeuvre our way through the film industry. So, the intention is to go to Cannes and see what kind of distributors we can connect with and feel the pulse of the international audience. After all, we are competing with the world now and Cannes is a mega name in the movie world,” she says.Shruthi and her brother Chaitanya Varad have staged more than 120 houseful original theatre shows across South India as part of their company, Underdog Entertainment. Movie aficionados might recollect that Chaitanya was a lead actor in ‘Brahman Naman’, which was showcased at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. Now with What’s Up With Indian Men creating quite a buzz, Shruthi is looking forward to their time at Cannes.“We plan to attend a lot of workshops, pitch ideas and meet representatives – basically, get a pulse of how filmmaking has evolved; understand new audience behaviours and emerge as better filmmakers. We are from Namma Bengaluru and it feels great to be representing India on a global stage.”The only Indian English film in its category, What’s Up With Indian Men will be previewed at the Cannes Court Metrage on May 25 and can be viewed online via a secured and private access during the festival.- Deepa Natarajan Lobo