‘John Doe’: Why director Madhumita wanted to move beyond feel-good films

Arjun Das and director Madhumita on the sets of ‘John Doe’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There was a time in director Madhumita’s life when she felt she didn’t have it in her to succeed in cinema. It happened sometime in 2015, a few weeks after the release of her Moone Moonu Varthai, which did not click at the box office. Disheartened, Madhumita packed her bags and went to Mumbai to join a corporate company, bidding goodbye to directorial dreams.

Even as she worked the corporate ladder, she wrote a village-based slice-of-life story of an old man’s friendship with a young boy.

Titled KD Engira Karuppuduraiand released in 2019, the comedy drama changed her life overnight.

“It was magic. So many people thought that it was my first film; I had to remind them that I had done films before that too,” she laughs.

Offers poured in to make ‘similar films’ — she, in fact, subsequently took up the opportunity to remake the film in Hindi with Abhisekh Bachchan (Kaalidhar Kaapata) — but Madhumita wanted to move beyond that comfort zone. “It is a stereotype that women only make good rom-coms and feel-good films. Producers would specifically ask me for such subjects.”