Director of 'One Night Stand' Jasmine Moses D’Souza: Curiosity about sex is everywhere (Interview)

Nuzhat Aziz
April 26, 2016:  must have taken a lot more than plain courage to choose a bold title like ‘One Night Stand’ for a directorial debut. And when filmmaker Jasmine Moses D’Souza makes it clear that being preachy is not really her cup of tea, you assume that this is perhaps just another erotic film. But a conversation with the debutante director will tell you that the film is much more than just its titillating title. In a candid chat with Bombay Times, Jasmine tells us how the film is about gender equality, relationships and whySunny Leone was the perfect choice for the lead.
Excerpts…
Why did you give your first film such a controversial title?
The title wasn’t given to grab eyeballs. The film starts with a one-night stand, and that is the crux of the story. In real life as well, people often rush into things on the spur of the moment. For that one moment of fun and pleasure, we end up risking our entire lives. Which is exactly what this film is all about.
You think you are in control of the whole situation, on top of the world and it hits you when you least expect it. I did not want to be preachy about the subject, but at the same time, we tried to question things subtly — Why is it acceptable for a guy to have a one-night stand and not a woman? Why do we judge people on the basis of their past or actions?
For a man, we justify by saying that he has his needs. Can’t a woman have her needs? Can’t she get carried away? And if she does, does it make her bad? We always tend to label women based on their relationships. Whether she is a good or bad daughter, girlfriend, sister, wife or mother. Why aren’t there any labels for the guy?
I did not want to have placards screaming in support of gender equality, but in my own way, I have tried to highlight gender discrimination and relationships through this film.
In a country where we are hypocritical in a lot of ways and talking about sex is taboo, do you think people will judge the film by its name?
That is bound to happen. We are all hypocrites — not just in India but abroad as well. Gender inequality is everywhere. Even in Hollywood, if they have lovemaking scenes, they highlight it in their trailers. Curiosity about sex is everywhere , but you want to be this morally right person and say things against it. Initially, when the teaser of the film was out, there were a lot of reactions like — ‘Can’t we have something better’. But a lot has changed since the trailer is out. I have realised that people have preconceived notions, which is bound to happen, given the fact that I have Sunny in the film, and a title like One Night Stand. We are not shying away from the fact that it does have lovemaking scenes, but that’s not all there is.
Was Sunny the first choice because of the script that you had in mind?
She was our only choice. Sunny was interested in doing something with us, so we went to her with a couple of ideas, and this was one of the ideas that she really liked. So then, we decided to develop the story forward. Like I said earlier, we are very quick to judge people. And I think we have always judged Sunny on the basis of what we know of her in the media and what is being shouted at from the rooftops. But there is another side to her. No one really wants to understand that side. And that side is really beautiful. Somewhere that’s similar to the central idea of my film as well. You label people based on one action. Do you even bother to see what the other side is? In the film, I have someone who’s had a one-night stand, but she’s sure she doesn’t want to do anything after that. Is that so wrong? Does that make her any less of a human? No it doesn’t. She’s perfect otherwise. Somewhere I think Sunny just brings that — she has an innocent face and she’s beautiful — she was the perfect package. And she has
delivered what I needed to. My faith in her was not unjustified.
In Bollywood, you don’t come across too many commercially successful women filmmakers… Do you think it takes a lot of effort for a woman to call the shots?
I think the moment we have a woman directing a film, you automatically expect them to make a socially relevant statement. But I don’t know why that burden is always on women. Given a choice, any filmmaker would want to make a complete masala entertainment and have fun doing it. Is it difficult? Yes, it is. As much as we would not like to admit it, it’s difficult for a woman in all spheres of life, not just in filmmaking. It’s a struggle. But I always believe that ultimately if you have the talent, it shows.

When One Night Stand happened, Tony was in between films and he had the time to play mommy. If you are looking for a struggle story, I don’t have any. I am just blessed. Struggle for me is to work hard, but I’ve had it easier than most other people.
Watch ‘One Night Stand’ trailer