Tannishtha Chatterjee's second directorial, a romcom, tackles environmental issues in a city
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 19, 2018)

Even before the release of her directorial debut, Roam Rome Mein, a love story featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Velentina Corti, Tannishtha Chatterjee is ready with her second script, Dhoka Cola. A romcom on the face of it, Tannishtha is quick to add that it has an underlying layer of social commentary woven into the screenplay. “We need to tell stories which are progressive, break social stereotypes through mass or pop culture. My film speaks about the environmental issues in the city. If we can’t breathe fresh air or eat fresh food, what’s the use of development?” argues the writer-director-actress, saying people living in the metros would be able to relate to the story easily, since they are victims of deforestation.

The film was shortlisted by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (ASPA), an academy film fund that supports feature films at the script stage. It was in the list of 15 films drown from across the globe and Tannishtha is proud of the achievement. “It’s an assurance that my content is strong,” she beams.

This year has seen several content-driven films rather than star-driven films work their magic on the audience and that she believes is an encouraging sign. “It is good that different kind of stories are working in today’s time,” asserts the filmmaker who is currently busy finalising the script and cast while simultaneously working on the post production of Roam Rome Mein.