Anvita Dutt’s Qala is a cautionary tale. Set in the early ’40s, it tells the story of a successful playback singer burdened by her own destiny that is carved on rejection from her mother. The gorgeous yet grim portrait of a guilt-ridden woman, however, feels as modern as it does vintage.

Dutt shares that in setting the period film in the ’40s, she attempts to establish that when it comes to feeling validated, little has changed for women. “The feeling of lack of agency or choice, or the guilt attached with doing something for yourself, is [unfortunately] pretty universal for us all. We can all see ourselves in different parts of Qala, at different times in our lives. That is the essence that I was carrying with me [while making the film],” says Dutt, who also penned the film that is currently streaming on Netflix.

Qala sees Dutt pair with Tripti Dimri again after Bulbbul. She also reserves pivotal parts for Swastika Mukherjee and the late actor Irrfan Khan’s son Babil, who makes his acting debut with this film. Letting us in on the process of extracting the best performances from her cast, she says spinning imaginary stories about their characters usually serves the purpose. For instance, Mukherjee’s matriarch Urmila Devi, who deprives daughter Qala of the love she deserves, was a result of day-long conversations between her and Dutt about how the character’s childhood would have been.

“We spoke about how she got married, her childhood, and who her neighbours were.”

While Qala’s debilitating anxiety stems from her traumatic childhood, Urmila fails to be a giving parent, because she is a victim of patriarchal conditioning. Accurately depicting sexism in women via this film, Dutt believes only a sensitive gaze can enable us to decipher why women become gatekeepers of patriarchy.

“Women consolidate their position in the world by being attached to a man — a father, brother, lover, husband or a son. If these figures don’t exist, [women] feel their standing within the structure of society is shaken. The reason women become gatekeepers of patriarchy is because they are afraid to be thrown out of that gate.”