Rana Daggubati on Neelira: ‘Most war films take sides, this throws that out’

Rana Daggubati. Pic/Instagram

Today, when the world is witnessing the US and Israel's war with Iran, Rana Daggubati's production Neelira takes us back to another war - the Eelam conflict in Sri Lanka. What drew him to the Tamil release was how it zoomed in to examine the effects of a war on ordinary lives. He shares, "You've seen so many films about war, but this one takes a human angle. Today, we're constantly hearing what world leaders are saying - [Donald] Trump said this, someone else said that - but that's a high-level view of what's going on. Every place has people and their everyday life gets affected because of wars."

A still from the film. Pic/By Special Arrangement

That point is highlighted in Neelira. Set in 1988, Someetharan's directorial venture tells the story of a family preparing for a wedding, only to get caught in crossfire between the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Daggubati adds, "Most war films take sides. One side is good, the other is bad. That's the usual narrative. This film throws that out; it doesn't stand with anyone. It's humans against war."

According to him, such movies are a way of "recreating time" and understanding chapters of history. Yet, they are steadily shrinking in Indian cinema. Daggubati reflects, "A lot of drama has moved to long-form series. People are also consuming short-form content. So, cinema is stuck in the middle, and it starts playing safe."

However, as a producer, he is certain of the kind of stories he wants to tell. "Films like this age well. They're not here for a three-week run. As long as war exists, there will be people dealing with its trauma. If we don't tell these stories, we lose something much bigger than a film."

All We Imagine as Light; (right) Gargi. Pics/Instagram

Before this, Rana Daggubati produced films like ‘Gargi', and presented ‘All We Imagine as Light' and ‘Sabar Bonda'