Indian filmmaker Bonita Rajpurohit: ‘This is my gaze’

When filmmaker Bonita Rajpurohit put on a directorrsquos hat she had no clue her film would touch so many hearts If You Know You Know 2024 is the story of a transwoman Kusum played by Rajpurohit herself who swipes on manyamen meets them on dates only to realise that none of them saw her beyond her trans identityThe short is Rajpurohitrsquos first time directing ldquoI was an actor first But I felt like there werenrsquot many roles that were coming my way I was always offered very particular characters and they would be of a very similar naturerdquo Rajpurohit says ldquoThatrsquos when my friend Dhruv Solanki who is the producer of my film really pushed me to write something I was not seeing opportunities for myself So I felt like I needed to create one for myselfrdquoA still from lsquoIf You Know You Knowrsquo Pics CourtesyBonita RajpurohitRajpurohit has no film background or like she says ldquoI didnrsquot even know what terminology to use for the kind of shots I wantedrdquo And yet the film gives you no hint of that The cinematography is shaky there are zoomins all over giving it a real feel ldquoI really loved the way it shaky shots showed the rawness of the moment Frames have a lot of importance in the way they change the nature of a scenerdquo Rajpurohit says ldquoI really didnrsquot want to make it such a grim movie because it already deals with some of these subjects I wanted to have fun around itrdquoThe editing too cuts like swiping on a dating app Itrsquos quick fastpaced and in a rush ldquoI wanted to show the pace of how people are going on dates no one is finding a connection everybody is just hurrying uprdquo Rajpurohit saysBonita RajpurohitIn 2024 the film won several accolades including Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker at the Kashish Film Festival and was nominated for three Criticsrsquo Choice Awards The film received a grant from Renuka Shahane and found a mentor in Alankrita Shrivastava In 2026 the film has found a new life as it finally reaches streaming platforms ldquoThe idea was always to stream it for free It was nonnegotiable We wanted this film to be seen by as many people as possiblerdquo she says ldquoBrew TV is the platform where we could find space to show this film for free for everybody who can just come and see the film And if they want to contribute they can Therersquos no pressurerdquoWith that the film has gained many new viewers and has earned lots of love for Rajpurohit ldquoItrsquos been two years since I made the movie So when we dropped the trailer I was not expecting anythingrdquo she says ldquoBut oh my God people were asking for the link to watch everywhere My account got frozen because I kept sending links and at one point Instagram told me lsquoYou canrsquot send any more links because of bot activityrsquo So it was just so crazyrdquoWhere did the story come from we ask her ldquoIt just came so randomly into my mind that I started to writerdquo she says ldquoWhen you go on so many dates and end up getting disappointed you also feel like yoursquore wasting your time But I wanted to utilise all of those experiences in some way or the other mdash to tell the story and share my world share my space with people the way I see it This is also how I see the world and how I see myself in itrdquoBut the journey wasnrsquot easy ldquoI think the biggest difficulty was that we had a very limited budget and we had a lot of cast and crew members Not being able to pay them as per their strength and as per their contribution was the biggest hardshiprdquo she says ldquoIt would not have been possible without any of them And for them to come and trust me with my vision without asking any questions I wish we could pay them even morerdquoThe most amusing part for this writer was the end of the film As the credits roll one can hear a cover of the Doraemon intro song playing the one that goes ldquoZindagi sawaar tu Ek nayi bahar tuhelliprdquo We ask Rajpurohit why she chose that as the ending song ldquoOne of my coactors was singing it with me so I felt like it was just a cute moment that we wanted to leave the film with mdash a lighter noterdquo she says ldquoYou see all the people in the movie come from such different places They have such different experiences and conditioning But Doraemon is something that really unites everyone Even if yoursquore in a village in a city or somewhere else Doraemon is such a shared experience of memory to connect with one another and feel as one I would actually see so many times when we would be screening the film in theatres and at screenings and festivals people would actually start singing that song I was happy to see them end on that happy shared noterdquo