Kolkata has always had crazy, creative people: Kitu Gidwani

She came into the limelight through popular soaps in the 1980s such as Air Hostess and Swabhimaan, and since then, model-actress Kitu Gidwani has picked her projects carefully. But now, she has decided to be even more picky. “I’m done with English theatre. Theatre in Mumbai hasn’t progressed. I’d rather wait for that call to do a good film, or an OTT project. But I might end up doing a Hindi play,” said Kitu, who was in town for a screening of the short film, Madam Driver, in which she plays the protagonist – a 60-plus widow learning how to drive.
I’ve given up on English theatre in Mumbai because it hasn’t progressed from what I was doing 10 years ago. I’m not interested in doing the same thing on a hamster wheel

I used to be a huge fan of Amyt Datta
When asked about her connection with Kolkata, she said that her experience shooting in the city “hasn’t been too great. Otherwise, I’ve had a blast,” she added with a smile. “The city is full of crazy, creative people, who’ll pick up a guitar at the drop of a hat, and being a music freak, I just love that!” She added that she used to hang out with the famous Datta boys, Amyt and Kochoo. “I used to be a huge fan of Amyt – green eyes, long hair, guitar, what else could one ask for? We would shoot all day, for this little film that never got released, and in the evening, I would sit and ask Amyt to play one song after the other,” Kitu added.

About driving in the film after a decade
In the film, Kitu plays a 60-plus widow focussed on fulfilling her personal goal of learning how to drive. But according to the actress, though she considers herself a good driver, she stopped driving in Mumbai traffic around a decade ago. “I just didn’t want the stress,” she said, adding, “For Madam Driver, they gave me an old Morris Minor to ‘test out’. I was quite relieved to know that all my driving instincts were right in place.” Speaking about her role, Kitu said colouring her hair white to play an older woman was a horror. “But the moment I took on the role, I insisted that I get my hair-coloured white,” she said. “It’s in these conditions, your acting chops are called upon. I perform well under that kind of pressure.”
Madam Driver, a quiet ode to women
Director Indrajit Nattoji’s one-hour long short feature was inspired by his mother, who passed away post the COVID lockdowns. The story revolves around the sixty-something Devika Dixit’s (Gidwani, the ‘madam’ of the film title) intensely personal goal of learning how to drive.
As she seeks out the much younger driving instructor Hassan (Ankit Siwach) and his wife Sakeena (Bhavna Pani), the trio’s life gets intertwined. As each of the three protagonists come alive on screen with bits and pieces of their individual eccentricities, the film speaks subtly, offering quiet messages.
“The film is an ode to the quiet, everyday struggles of women in the face of patriarchy — but that is never said out aloud,” said Nattoji. It is also a reflection of the “India that I have grown up in, where the non-acknowledgement of religious divides has been a form of protest itself”, Nattoji emphasised. The second of an anthology of six shorts, Madam Driver was shot on iPhones on location in Baroda, in a week.

I used to hang out with the famous Datta boys, Amyt and Kochoo, and used to be a huge fan of Amyt – green eyes, long hair, the guitar. What more could one ask for?
Pics: Samik Sen