Asking an Indian filmmaker what it means to be a woman in a fiercely competitive industry is not a question many are comfortable answering. "One of the reasons is that they don't want to play the victim card. Their reluctance also stems from the fact that unless the sexism is blatant—like in the case of #MeToo—nobody thinks of it as being an issue of gender," says Nandita Dutta, 29. The writer, who spent nearly six years tracking indie and regional cinema for a popular film website, feels that journalists often resist probing women directors about gender during interviews. "Even if they ask the question, they sound apologetic," says Delhi-based Dutta, an alumnus of Mumbai's Sophia College.

Her debut non-fiction title, F Rated (HarperCollins India), addresses this, as she profiles 11 Indian women filmmakers, who among other things, discuss how their gender feeds their art. "While most of them were receptive to the idea of a book, the moment I started questioning them about how gender determines their choices, and the way the industry treats them, there was resistance," recalls Dutta, who started work on the book in 2014. Zoya Akhtar, in fact, withdrew mid-way, because she got uncomfortable. "She felt that there was a need to move away from this conversation around gender." There were others, however, who were vocal. "Often, we collaboratively reflected on the issue, and that was the most rewarding part of this exercise."