‘Women should have a voice in the industry’

Debutante director Prerna Agarwal is coming up with her film, Sold, which is based on the themes of child trafficking and child labour. The film, featuring Kavya Shetty and Danish Sait, is set to release on March 4.

Talking about the reason behind exploring this topic, Prerna says, “We tend to ignore cases like child trafficking, child labour, which are happening right under our noses. Nobody is speaking about it. The topic I have explored in Sold is something that will catch everyone’s attention immediately. People will be interested to know what it is all about, and at the same time, it will send a message as to what is happening in society. It is a topic that people shouldn’t ignore.”

What is the kind of impact Prerna believes Sold will create? “This was a script written by my friend, and it is a totally universal subject. For this film, we did a lot of research. We even tied up with Bosco. All this will have an impact when we bring the film on such a wide medium like cinema,” says Prerna, adding, “This is a fictional story but a lot of elements are brought out to showcase the reality of what is happening.”

What is the sensitivity that being a woman brings to a topic like this? “There are of course very few female directors, and not all of them are considered seriously. A lot still believe women should only be in front of the camera. This film had mostly women part of the project, and it was a good experience. I would love more women to come forward and take up such roles. We should be able to have a voice,” says Prerna.

Prerna had filmmaking aspirations right from her school years. She then went to New York Film Academy, and learned scriptwriting. “Short films were my initial interest. But then, my goal was to write a script. There are a lot more things happening too,” she says about her future plans.

Talking about the film, Prerna says, “There is one setting of a kidnap in the film, and Sold is about how that impacts the life of a lot of people around the issue.” She adds, “Everybody aims to go big, and I’m glad to hear that everybody is talking about Sandalwood, and I’m happy to be entering the industry at the right time,” she signs off.