Alankrita Shrivastava

Alankrita Shrivastava is an Indian screenwriter, director and producer. Having made her debut as a director in 2011, she has since won accolades such as the Grand Prix at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival and a nomination for a Filmfare Award for the critically acclaimed film Lipstick Under My Burkha.

Alankrita Shrivastava
Shrivastava at Stockholm Film Festival in 2016.
Born(1979-08-21)21 August 1979
OccupationDirector • Screenwriter

Shrivastava studied filmmaking at Jamia Milia Islamia in New Delhi and later moved to Mumbai. She began working as an associate director for Prakash Jha. After assisting Jha on notable projects including Apharan (2005) and Rajneeti (2010), Shrivastava made her directorial debut with 2011 film Turning 30. She later received widespread praise for the black comedy Lipstick Under My Burkha, which she directed and wrote. The film earned her, among other accolades, a nomination at the Filmfare Awards.

Early life and education

Shrivastava was born in New Delhi, but moved to Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand where she attended Welham Girls' School. After completing her schooling, she moved back to Delhi and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College.[1] She later studied filmmaking at the A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia.[2]

Career

Shrivastava moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in filmmaking and soon began working as associate director for Prakash Jha. She assisted Jha on such films as Gangaajal, Apaharan, Loknayak, Dil Dosti, Khoya Khoya Chand, and Raajneeti.[3][4] Following that, she wrote and directed her debut film Turning 30, which was poorly received by critics and audiences.[5]

Shrivastava then wrote the script for Lipstick Under My Burkha in 2012. She submitted the draft for the screenwriter's lab at National Film Development Corporation of India, where she was mentored by Urmi Juvekar.[6] Upon completion, Lipstick Under My Burkha had its world premiere in October 2016 at the Tokyo International Film Festival, was also screened at the Mumbai Film Festival, and had its North American premiere at the Miami International Film Festival in March 2017.[7][8][9]

Lipstick Under My Burkha was initially denied a release in India in January 2017, after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused a certificate because of the sexual content and language used in the film.[10] Shrivastavaa and her team appealed this decision to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). Following a discussion which resulted in a few changes in the original cut, FCAT organisation directed the CBFC to issue an A certificate to the film.[11][12][13]

Shrivastava spoke of the changes with Agence-France Presse, saying, "I would have loved no cuts, but the FCAT has been very fair and clear. I feel that we will be able to release the film without hampering the narrative or diluting its essence."[12] Lipstick Under My Burkha was released theatrically in India on 21 July 2017 to positive response from film critics and audiences alike.[14][15] It was a breakthrough film for Indian cinema on multiple fronts, from its feminist themes to its comedic and progressive take on women’s sexuality, religion and other socio-political aspects of Indian society.

After the success of Lipstick Under My Burkha, Shrivastava went on to write and direct Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, a comedy/drama feature starring Konkona Sen Sharma and produced by Balaji Motion Pictures It premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and was released on Netflix in September 2020.

Making her series debut, Shrivastava went on to work on Amazon Prime Video’s series Made in Heaven, where she directed and co-wrote several episodes for the show’s first and second seasons. The show, produced by Excel Entertainment, tackles contemporary themes in India, like the clash between conservative and progressive mindsets, and the evolving romantic needs of young Indians versus the traditional stronghold of older generations. The show’s writing and direction received acclaim. Shrivastava also directed and wrote several episodes in the second season, which released on August 10th 2023.

Shrivastava was the creator, writer, director and showrunner on Bombay Begums, an urban drama series revolving around five Indian women across several generations. The show was produced by Endemol Shine India and Chernin Entertainment and released on Netflix in 2022.

Shrivastava was a writer and director on several episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s Modern Love: Mumbai, the Mumbai chapter in the Modern Love anthology series. The romantic comedy show, which was produced by Pritish Nandy and released in May 2022, is based on the American anthology series of the same name, also on Amazon Prime. The anthology focuses on six tales of human connection and different kinds of love, which are unrelated to each other but connected in their universal themes.

Personal life

Shrivastava currently lives and works in Mumbai.[16] In an interview with the Bangalore Mirror, she mentioned that she practices Buddhism.[17] Her father died in 2016 after a prolonged illness.[6]

Filmography
YearFilmDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2007Dil Dosti Etc NoNoexecutive
2007Khoya Khoya Chand NoNoexecutive
2011Turning 30YesYesNoDirectorial debut
2017Lipstick Under My BurkhaYesYesNoNominated—Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film
2019Made in HeavenYesYesNoAmazon Prime Series
2020Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte SitareYesYesNoNetflix film
2021Bombay BegumsYesYesYesNetflix series
2022Modern Love: MumbaiYesYesNoAnthology series on Amazon Prime Video
Assistant director
Year Film Role
2005Apaharan Chief assistant director
2010RaajneetiAssociate director

References
  1. "Female Idol Blog Series – Filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava On 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' And More". WMF India. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. "Lipstick Under My Burkha director Alankrita Srivastava: The story of my women characters has become the story of the film". The Indian Express. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  3. Lata Khubchandani. "Alankrita Shrivastava". Outlook. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. ""Patriarchy knows no religion.": director Alankrita Shrivastava discusses "Lipstick Under My Burkha". Salon. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. ""Made in Heaven is about society!"". Kovid Gupta Films. 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  6. "Always have to be defensive about my films: 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' director". The News Minute. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  7. "Lipstick Under My Burkha". Tokyo International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  8. "The Spirit of Asia Award of Tokyo International Film Festival 2016 goes to Indian director Alankrita Shrivastava - News - Japan Foundation Asia Center". Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  9. "'Lipstick Under My Burkha' Receives Oxfam Award For Best Film On Gender Equality". ScoopWhoop. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  10. Lohana, Avinash (23 February 2017). "CBFC refuses to certify Prakash Jha's film Lipstick Under My Burkha". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  11. Nyay Bhushan (26 April 2017). "Feminist Drama 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' Cleared for Indian Theatrical Release With Edits". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  12. Michael Safi (26 April 2017). "Indian film board clears Lipstick Under My Burkha for release". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  13. "Finally, 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' has a release date". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  14. "Lipstick Under My Burkha". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  15. "Lipstick Under My Burkha to arrive with a dash of red on July 21, release date announced with a bold poster. See photo". 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  16. Shoji, Kaori (19 October 2016). "There's always drama at home". The Japan Times. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  17. "30, Single, And Happy". India Times. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
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