Namita Lal is happy about her film, Before Life After Death

Tell us about your film. It is a very unique film. The story is about two Indian families from two different social classes. It was shot during Covid times. It touches topics such as teenage pregnancy, mental health, sisterhood, etc. How did you think of making such a project? I met Anshul Tiwari, who is an award-winning short film and documentary filmmaker. He lives in Singapore as well as India and his wife, Debasmita Dasgupta, is a renowned story writer. I met them during MAMI in 2019 and we spoke about a film that they were making in India. And then during Covid, we all were in Singapore, they had this story ready. They narrated it to me and I liked it. Why did you think of making it in Singapore? It is a Singaporean story. It is not a story that can be made anywhere else. It is about Indians living in Singapore. When you look at Singapore from the outside, most people think that Indians living in Singapore are rich expats, or they probably belong to the labour class. But there are people, who moved to Singapore many years back and they run restaurants and grocery stores. What is your role in the film? My role is of an oncologist, who is dealing with intense grief. She develops a bond with a teenager, who is from a very different social class. They come together to address their individual issues and solve their life challenges. Any special preparations that you did for the role? This is one of the toughest roles that I have ever done in my life. We did intense workshops. It's a role that took me a lot of time to get into and once I got into it, it took me a lot of time to get out of it. What kind of subject do you want to work on? I am interested in stories about human relationships. I enjoy exploring different kinds of relationships. Anything that touches the heart and is based on real life. It could be a historical film or a comedy. You are into production as well. Which role is more challenging — producer or actor? I enjoy being an actor but love various roles of a producer. At this stage of your life, what new things do you want to learn? Everything that I am doing now is new. Being in this industry is good as it is going through a paradigm shift. I am enjoying the process of learning and achieving in this new space.

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