It’s high time we make content that makes an impact: Amrutha Iyengar

Amrutha Iyengar’s powerful performance in All.Ok’s latest music video, i, highlights the trauma of a survivors of sexual abuse. She shares, “This song is a tribute of sorts, a statement of solidarity from Karnataka in light of the RG Kar incident. Moreover, it is for all women who have faced abuse in any form.” Amrutha shares, “When All.Ok first sent me the song, I had goosebumps. It’s a dedication to strong women who take charge of their own lives. In the video, the survivor finally gets much-deserved support through a police inspector, played by Malashree ma’am, who I was thrilled to be sharing screen space with.”

As for the character itself, Amrutha says that it was one that she felt strongly about. “When I stepped onto the set, put on the makeup, and faced the camera, it wasn’t about me anymore. I could feel the character’s pain. It was probably the power of the song, or also the fact that I was thinking about all the women who have gone through so much in their lives. Unfortunately, you ask any woman across generations if they have been abused in any form, and they all say yes. I have asked friends and even members of my family, everybody says it happens. I have gone through such experiences, too, I was abused without me even realising it. While women in previous generations would not speak about it, due to social conditioning or fear that they will be blamed for being ‘victims’, our generation is in a better space because at least we can voice out issues. But even today, survivors are subjected to years of court visits, and even if the offenders are in prison, you can never be sure if they are being punished adequately for the crime they have committed. So, on set, when I held that gun, I was shivering and I was feeling the anger and frustration on behalf of all the women who have gone through any form of abuse,” she explains.

Amrutha is overwhelmed with the feedback that she has received for this role, mostly from women. “When a two-minute long video has made such an impact with its storytelling in the minds of our audiences, one can just imagine what a full length feature film on such content can do. Today, makers stick to commercial films, made on big budgets. We watch films in other languages and feel they are great, but we are not attempting to make such films ourselves. We need writers to work on such stories and we need our audience to also support such films. It is high time we make content that moves people and makes an impact,” she says.