No film can rise above its story: Writer-director Ranjani Raghavan at Mangaluru Lit Fest
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Actor, writer, and filmmaker Ranjani Raghavan on Saturday underlined the centrality of storytelling in cinema, asserting that no film can rise above its story, regardless of scale or technique.
Speaking at the Mangaluru Lit Fest, Raghavan said, "Cinema often gets trapped in superficial aesthetics. As long as there are values and honesty in storytelling, an emotional connection is possible."
Growth, she added, happens only when one is willing to question oneself and put in sustained effort.
Raghavan, who primarily works in Kannada films, participated in a session titled 'Imagination, Storytelling and Camera', where she reflected on her journey and spoke candidly about the creative and commercial challenges of filmmaking.
Explaining the process, Raghavan said imagination comes at little cost, but writing demands discipline.
"A story must be written, rewritten, shared, and refined repeatedly. This stage requires time and mental effort. Once filming begins, costs rise, and business concerns come into play. Filmmakers must keep the audience in mind without compromising the core idea," she said.
Raghavan is also well known for her roles in the TV series 'Putta Gowri Maduve' and 'Kannadathi', and is the author of the book 'Kathe Dabbi'.
Looking back on her career, she said she had little initial interest in directing.
"As an actor, I did not question the director’s vision. Later, when I began writing and working as a screenwriter, the urge to direct grew naturally. Direction came to me through observation, editing, and understanding visual language," she said.
Raghavan emphasised that preparation is everything. "For any film, the story is non-negotiable. You cannot bypass it. What you can do is enrich it. I constantly ask myself whether the story is relevant today and whether it can be told in an engaging, entertaining way. Only when I find convincing answers do I move forward," she said.
Addressing contemporary cinema, she observed that characters and gender representation are evolving. "Women are no longer portrayed as divine; they are allowed flaws, independence, and mistakes—just like men. Masculinity and femininity coexist within individuals, and cinema must reflect this reality, honestly," she said.
She also acknowledged the growing influence of digital platforms, noting that storytelling today extends beyond cinema halls to reels and short-form content, where authenticity often resonates more strongly than spectacle.
Senior actor and writer Poornima Suresh, active in Kannada and Konkani theatre, television, and cinema, also spoke at the session, saying that imagination is the lifeblood of writing.
"Life experiences shape stories. When expressed honestly and artistically, they become universal," she said, adding that men and women experience life differently, and both perspectives deserve space in storytelling.
The eighth edition of the two-day Mangaluru Lit Fest, organised by the Bharat Foundation, began on January 10 at the TMA Pai International Convention Centre.
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Air quality a nationwide crisis, govt response exceedingly ineffective:Cong
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday cited a report to claim that air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is "exceedingly ineffective and inadequate", as it demanded a thorough reform of the National Clear Air Programme.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the NCAP propagated as the National Clear Air Programme is actually another type of NCAP - "Notional Clear Air Programme".
The former environment minister said a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has now confirmed what was always India's "worst-kept secret that the air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is exceedingly ineffective and inadequate".
Using satellite data, the study found that nearly 44 per cent of Indian cities that is 1,787 out of 4,041 statutory towns assessed have chronic air pollution, with annual PM2.5 levels consistently exceeding the national standard over five years (2019-2024, excluding 2020), Ramesh said in a statement.
Pointing out that the report also highlighted the ineffectiveness of the NCAP, the Congress leader said that despite the scale of the problem (1,787 towns), only 130 cities are covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
Of these 130 cities, 28 still lack continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), he claimed.
Among the 102 cities with monitoring infrastructure, 100 reported PM10 levels of 80 per cent or higher, Ramesh said, adding that in totality, NCAP currently addresses only 4 per cent of India's chronically polluted cities
NCAP, propagated as the National Clear Air Programme, is actually another type of NCAP--Notional Clear Air Programme, he said and asserted that it now needs a thorough overhaul and reform.
"The first step must be to acknowledge the public health crisis linked to air pollution across wide swathes of India. Consequently, given this crisis, we must revisit and totally revamp both the Air Pollution (Control and Prevention) Act of 1981 and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) put into effect in November 2009," Ramesh said.
As per the NAAQS the permissible concentration of fine particulate matter is 60 ug/m3 for a 24-hour period, and 40 ug/m3 annually versus the guidelines of less than 15 ug/m3 for a 24-hour period and 5 ug/m3 annually set by the WHO, he pointed out.
Ramesh urged the government to drastically increase the funds made available under the NCAP.
"The current budget, inclusive of NCAP funding and the 15th Finance Commission's grants, is about Rs. 10,500 crore, spread across 131 cities! Our cities need at least 10-20 times more funding. NCAP must be made a Rs 25,000 crore programme and spread across the 1,000 most polluted towns in the country," he said.
The NCAP must adopt measurement of PM 2.5 levels as the yardstick for performance NCAP must reorient its focus to key sources of emissions -- burning of solid fuels, vehicular emissions, and industrial emissions, the former environment minister said.
"The NCAP must be given legal backing, an enforcement mechanism, and serious data monitoring capacity for every Indian city, beyond the current focus only on 'non- attainment' cities," he argued.
Ramesh asserted that air pollution norms for coal power plants must be enforced immediately.
All power plants must install a Fluoride Gas Desulfurizer (FGD) by the end of 2026, he said.
"The National Green Tribunal's independence must be restored, and the anti-people environmental law amendments of the last 10 years must be rolled back," Ramesh said.
"Twice so far in Parliament -- first on 29th July 2024 and then on 9th December 2025 -- the Modi Government has tried to downplay the health impact of air pollution. The Modi Government is not blind to the truth, it is only attempting to cover up the scale of its incompetence and negligence," the Congress leader alleged.
