With her upcoming film ‘Fireflies’ and recently released single ‘Rise up and run’, Monica Dogra has her hands full. Soumabrata Chatterjee and Pratiti Ganatra strike up a conversation with her….
So let us start the interview on a personal front… Your maternal uncle, Prakash Sharma is a Dogri folk music singer. How much of influence did that have on you growing up and on your kind of music?
Who, my Mamaji? It was great, you know … I grew up hearing folk music, I grew exposed to music, it was in my blood you know, from a very early age. It wasn’t that it was completely focused on my Mamaji because I grew up in the States, so I saw him once when I was three years old, and another time when I was five years old and then again when I was 11 or 12. I mean of course there is a sense of pride, you know, and a major influence was my mom, and my mom sang all the time and that encouraged me to learn music.
Okay, your band Shaa’ir + Func is currently working on their fifth album. So what is the progress there? What is the overall concept?
I mean we are writing out this album, because we want to write a great album and share more music. There is no concept as such. We just want to write a great album and share more music. I think when you are an artist you are constantly creating, you are constantly on the move, you are constantly travelling, and you know, you create a body of work that you think is good. And you share it, and you know that is the point. And your work is done and that is the journey and that is so beautiful, and that is what keeps me connected upwards, you know and there is not a moment when you think you are done. So the record is nearly finished and I would definitely boast a lot that after three years we have definitely changed a lot, we have become a cohesive sound, we are stronger as the sum of our parts and that has come through in our writing. We wrote it together in the jam room and improvising with drums, with bass, with guitar, with vocals … I mean it is different from what we have ever done and in a way closer to the source.
You have recently come up with your solo song – Rise Up and Run, which was written at 3.00am in a Notting Hill studio, and you said in an interview that from the hundreds of songs you write, this was probably the one you felt was worth it. So how was the experience?
I had my hand in the conceptualisation of everything but, where I actually excelled was curetting a team that I knew was good at their job. And the director of my video was an incredibly talented filmmaker and photographer, and it felt amazing. It definitely felt like I had come close to accomplishing, you know, seeing my vision through from A to Z. it is easy, you know, to conceptualise, but what is difficult is to make sure that the dream comes to fruition. I think with Rise Up, we actually did that.
And how was it working with UK electronic artist Engine Earz (aka Prashant Mistry) for this new video? It also features dancers like Reshma Gajjar and Nilaya Sabnis – who have shared stage space with Madonna and Ricky Martin. Can you explain this whole experience for us?
It felt amazing, it felt like a dream come true. I mean I am entering a phase of my life where I am getting to work with the best and that is the level I want to stay at. There is a reason why people like that are coming into my life right now, not only as co-artists but also as friends. We serve … we help each other to grow. Working with them is not only fun and obviously career-wise fulfilling but it is also spiritually great … they walked with me on broken glass, and in ridiculous hurricane conditions, in freezing rain in practically our underwear …. Not one person demanded better treatment and it was all for the love of the art. I want to work at that level, which is non-opportunistic art which is the purest form, you know…
On the television front, The Dewarists is something you have been involved with closely. How did this idea of part documentary and part travelogue come about and how did you come to be associated with it?
Well, the production house is the one who conceptualised the show, and came to me with it. So much of my life is collaboration, and conducting collaboration, inviting people ——- and so they asked me to do it, I agreed.
You just made your first clothing line for the multi-designer online shop Stylista. Is this something you have always wanted to do? And what is your philosophy regarding that?
I have always really been interested in style, I have always really enjoyed it, and after moving to India realising that people only shop at Zara or at factory reject stores, I thought it would be fun, you know, to create a line that was relatable, wearable, and available. A lot of designer wear is unavailable to young people who are cool and go to parties and like fashion as much. So Anjana Sharma, who is one of the founders of Stylista, and I had a talk and thought it was a no-brainer and that’s how it all came about.
You have also worked on a video to showcase these designs, so what is the idea behind that? And it was your first time as a director, I presume?
I co-directed that with the VP Sachin Pillai, and basically I wrote this Spoken Word piece that then entered my album. And I see so many individually beautiful women who have individualistic style and a diversity that doesn’t always get showcased and doesn’t get a platform and I thought hey, why the hell not? I was about to shoot a diversity of beauty, you know, people who have really taken claim of their identity and their individuality and the Spoken Word teaches that as well.
Okay, do you also want to direct films? Do you have any interest in that?
Eventually. You know for me, the desire to create is at the top, so for now I am good, I have a lot on my plate right now.
How different is your director self from your actor self?
Well it is a completely different medium you know. You know as a director you are acting for your subjects to do what you would like for them to do and suggesting them …and as an actor you are the subject right, so it is your job to be a conduit…so it is really different technique.
Can you tell us a little bit about your role in the upcoming film Fireflies which is slated to release on 31st October?
My character in Fireflies is called Michelle, and she is a lot like me in many ways — you know she is head strong, she is creative, she is a rule breaker —- and I don’t think I am allowed to talk about the story as such.
How is the experience of working with Naseeruddin Shah and his son Vivaan Shah in Mastaan?
Well, we are not done yet. We are still in production. I actually met up with Naseeruddin Shah, and with Naseer Sir I haven’t done much yet. But Vivaan was great … it was a great experience.
What kinds of films inspire you along with music?
I know this is going to sound very vague, but I have to be honest, you can see a reflection of it in my work like I change every day, I am like a total chameleon. One day I was like clueless and then Queen really inspired me. But one of my favorite films is Requiem for a Dream, and then Wong Kar Wai … I mean I like so many different things in terms of inspiration — a tremendous amount of emotion and that is essentially what I am looking for.
You play the role of a woman who is responsible for creating a love triangle between a couple in the short film Severing Ties. (Directed by a Britain-based filmmaker Ahmed Roy.) And you play a lesbian in a 12-minute-short film titled Relapse with famous androgynous model Casey Legler. What is your criteria for choosing roles that you are a part of?
I have to say that I am so happy you have done research. I mean I appreciate this, Thank you. I really really appreciate it. Okay go ahead…
Thanks. So generally what happens in the Indian scene is that actors exhibit a certain amount of inhibition when they act in films that deal with sexual diversity or sexual difference. So how was the experience, and how do you deal with the mass media?
Complete honesty and complete transparency is necessary. When you have belief over what you are doing, when you have conviction over your sexuality and you have a right to express, right to membership, then everything else is not consequential … how people will respond, their reactions..
Recently Deepika Padukone was involved in a moment of controversy with ToI, where the latter published an obscene photo and then sensationalised it and Deepika retorted back. So sometimes the mass media seems to be the culprit in objectifying women, so how do you feel about that? But you are working in a mass media controlled industry, so there is the pressure of looking beautiful, of looking smart so there is this double-edged sword – how do you feel about that?
I don’t think the culprit is beauty or having to look good all the time … The actresses’ have a responsibility to portray an image that has intellect intertwined with beauty. More often than not, the mass media uses beauty to sell products and the idea is that ‘I am beautiful and therefore I am loved and accepted’… so the idea generally conveyed is all I have to do is look beautiful … but that is not the only way. It is a way but it is not the only way. I think that we can’t just blame the mass media, the media could be more gentle, could be more sensitive but I think consciousness and awareness and drive is needed in all areas – not just media but also amongst the actors, and also among the ad agencies and also among the ad agencies and also among the consumers and everyone. You can’t change it from one side – it has to be an acknowledgment how everyone is taking part in this.
When the UK property, The Big Chill, had the first ever known non-religious music festival in India, you were the only woman to perform at the entire festival. How was the experience?
When it started happening, it was just joy and happiness and I mean I didn’t know why I was being given this chance. In the beginning it felt great and now I want these things to happen more – to see people what they are doing and – I am seeing some people coming forth and that is happening…
You are also going to be performing at NH7. So what are your expectations from such an event?
I am just going to bring it, I don’t know what it is going to look like yet, but I am going to bring it.
If you ever have to describe a dream project, what would it be?
I am doing it …
You are living your dream then?
Yeah … I have many many dreams and it is great that I can make them come true.
Anything that you would like to say to us?
Thank you for doing your research … I really appreciate it when you care … it makes me happy.
We are delighted to interview you. Thank you.
