We are no longer afraid to write stories about women: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari | Exclusive

Director and producer Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari says the industry has evolved to provide a level playing field for both men and women in all aspects of filmmaking. In an exclusive interview with India Today Digitalthe Bareilly Ki Barfi director emphasized the importance of women taking bigger steps to bring about a change in the way films are conceived, written and produced for today’s audiences.

Ashwiny said, “If we look at the last three-four years, we have so many female-led films. Either of actors, directors or producers. The film Lapataa Ladies, which was at the Oscars, it is run by a woman – Kiran Rao. The Cannes film – All The Light We Imagine is directed by a woman telling the story of three women. The film called Santosh, an official Oscar entry, is directed by a woman. We have some great writers and producers, both male and female, writing and producing content for women. We’ve come a long way from being scared to write stories about women to seeing it happen and enjoying women’s stories for all.

The producer also pointed out how people began to focus on making things happen on a larger scale, instead of focusing on one man or woman making it possible. Ashwiny mentioned that most leading studios are run by women in the Indian film industry and it is a fantastic change to watch out for.

“Most of the best producers are women who run their respective studios. It’s all about setting up movies and seeing what works. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman making films, it’s all about who’s running it – right from setting up the films, to making them with the right actors and a vision for the given film, there’s sisterhood as well.” she explained.

For Ashwiny, it is extremely important that she always tells a story and not just makes a film, whether she works as a producer or a director. In the same interview, she emphasized that her benchmark for evaluating a story is to first ask herself whether or not she can watch whatever she’s doing with her family.

When asked what kind of projects she likes to support, she shared, “The story I believe in, something that follows my ethos as a storyteller. I ask if I can see this movie with my family. And that’s why I do Storytelling with passion comes with great responsibility. I also think that I don’t do projects, I tell stories that make commercial sense but at the same time are critically acclaimed. “

Ashwiny is currently building a project with Excel Entertainment which is expected to have Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kiara Advani in the lead.