Hope my films are not slotted as women-oriented stories, says Meghna Gulzar

Mumbai: Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar on Tuesday requested the audience to not slot her films, including her latest "Chhapaak", as women-oriented stories.

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Director of films like "Talvar" and "Raazi", Meghna said she chooses a story that connects with her and the character's gender has no role in it.

"I have a request that do not categorise 'Chhapaak' as women-centric film. My stories do have stronger female characters, unlike our conventional films.

"But they are not the stories of only one woman. I'm really hoping that my films say a lot more than being just a woman-oriented story," Meghna told reporters here.

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The director was speaking at the trailer launch of "Chhapaak", starring Deepika Padukone. The film is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

Meghna said as a filmmaker, her endeavour is to be honest to her craft and do her job with sincerity.

"I choose stories which resonate with me. I go purely by instinct. I never think like, 'Now I want to make a sensitive film so I will look for a sensitive topic or how will I make it commercial?'

"I tell a story with as much honesty and authenticity as possible, and whether or not it'll be a commercial film is not in my hands. Nobody sets out to make a failure or a flop film. We all want our films to do well. I just want to work with absolute honesty," she added.

Also featuring Vikrant Massey, "Chhapaak" is scheduled for a January 10 release.

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