Films should create conversations, not just entertainment, says Nandita Das

2 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Jul 12, 2026 08:37 AM IST

While delivering the 17th Dr. Lalita Iyer Memorial Lecture at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on Friday, Das spoke about how her experiences in social work shaped her career in cinema and why she believed films should create conversations instead of just entertainment. (Fb/ AMA)

Written by Yashaswi Singh

After a diverse work history that spans decades, actor and director Nandita Das said independent cinema often had stronger stories in comparison to mainstream films, whose sets felt unreal.

Das admitted that she never truly enjoyed working on large commercial productions. Without naming anyone, she said many “small films” were shot with budgets of around Rs 20 lakh, and their teams lived in the houses of locals instead of luxury hotels. “Usually, actors are drawn towards characters. I was always drawn to the story and what it was trying to say,” she said.

Sharing stories from films she acted in, Das said she gradually realised the true power of cinema. “Films were not the only thing I was interested in. It was the conversations sparked after the film that also interested me,” she said.

While delivering the 17th Dr. Lalita Iyer Memorial Lecture at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on Friday, Das spoke about how her experiences in social work shaped her career in cinema and why she believed films should create conversations instead of just entertainment.

She also reflected on her films like ‘Earth’ and ‘Sandstorm’. She praised Earth’s music and questioned why more Indian literature was not adapted into films despite its richness. While discussing Sandstorm, a film based on the story of a rape survivor, she said working on the project helped her understand the deep social hierarchies that continue to exist in society.

Speaking about her directorial debut ‘Firaaq’, a movie on the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Das said her intention was never to take political sides but to tell human stories. Instead, she wanted the audience to hear the voices of ordinary people affected by violence.  She also surprised the audience by speaking a few lines in Gujarati.

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(Yashaswi Singh is an intern at The Indian Express, Ahmedabad)