Sunayana Kachroo Shares Her Mission to Preserve Kashmiri Culture Through Film, Poetry, and Creative Writing
“I see myself as a cultural activist. Kashmiri culture is facing an extinction. Through my work I have tried to bring the Kashmiri language back into the mainstream.” .Today’s woman dreamer, Sunayana Kachroo is an award-winning Poet, Filmwriter, Producer, Lyricist and a Columnist, with a passion for highlighting her Kashmiri culture and heritage in her work. Her work has been screened at many prestigious film festivals like Cannes, MAMI and Austin Film Festival, and shines light on relevant topics around the globe, including women empowerment, love, healing, and more. In her Women Who Win interview, she reflects on her artistic journey and shares details on her upcoming projects. Enjoy!
Tell us your story. You are an award-winning Poet, Filmwriter, Producer, Lyricist and a Columnist to name a few. What inspired your passion for the creative arts?
My parents, especially my father nurtured my interest in literature, movies and music, we watched movies, listened to music and read books because there wasn’t anything else to do. I remember getting Boney M’s music cassette as a gift for getting good grades and topping the class. Even though the money was tight but I got the best of the best clothes and gadgets to use. We didn’t do a lot of things but whatever we wore or ate, it was the best in the town.
The story of my writing didn’t just start with the first thing I wrote or achieved, it started much before that; the carefree childhood in the idyllic Kashmir valley shunted by terrorism, thrilling misadventures of hostel life in Pune, coming to New York on software engineering job through H1, working in Manhattan, moving to Boston after marriage, making peace with the hyphenated dual identity, finding refuge in music and expression in words. My first book “Waqt Se Pare- Beyond time” was published in 2013 and second book “Sunny Side Up-Poems and Short Stories” in 2022. Meanwhile films happened and I got an opportunity to collaborate with some renowned artists.
Life is the greatest inspiration. As cliched as it may sound but this is the only truth I know of. Most creative people have lived a colorful, adventurous life full of speed bumps, roller coasters and struggle. You take the struggle away; there is no story to tell. Inspiration doesn’t only come from what happens directly to you but also from what you hear, witness or read. Sometimes your art is just your reaction or a reflection of your experiences. Ironically, the failure on page 41 in my life is connected to the success on page 78, I cannot tear one and spare the other Intertwined in destiny in such a way that What I understood at page 78 makes page 41 priceless. Anyone who can express without having to experience stuff is either a con or a highly spiritual being; poets I think are somewhere in between.
“Teri kamzoriyan bhi tera hissa hai
Isliye dischasp tera Qissa hai
Kuch boond kuch badal hai
Tu musalsal hai tu muqammal hai »
2. You are working on films currently. Tell us more about your current project. What is the story you aim to tell through this film?
My film writing and creative production work started in 2014 with Half widow to The illegal which released in 2021 and beautiful short films like “In search of America” ( selected for cannes) to the recently released short film “The good news” (streaming on hotstar). I kept learning along the way. The process and the ecosystem of Films is very different. Since I didn’t have any formal education or direct association with the film industry, I had to learn everything on job. Sometimes the story is given to me and I have to develop the screenplay around that, sometimes the screenplay is ready I have to write dialogues. In such cases I may not have the liberty of saying “my things” because we have to stay honest to the world of the character. As a writer I cannot force my morality on the characters. Yet our personal experiences do trickle in here and there.
My last film (short) was based on a true incident in Kashmir and we wove a story of love and friendship around it. As poet Faiz had said Lambi hai gam ki shaam magar shaam hee to hai. I keep that in mind while writing.
3. As you are Kashmiri, much of your work has Kashmiri influence. How do you aim to surface your cultural heritage in your work?
I see myself as a cultural activist. Kashmiri culture, especially language and music is facing an extinction. One can either cry rivers over it or add a drop towards the preservation. I chose the latter. Through my work as a poet, film maker and a lyricist I have tried to bring the Kashmiri language back into the mainstream music industry. We have used Kashmiri phrases, Kashmiri artists, poems of old forgotten poets and motifs through my work whenever possible.
I realized it later that when I was writing biographical poems, I was also writing history of Kashmir. My poems on my great grand mother’s death during Kabali raids is not only simple story of my relative, it is also a footnote in the history of Kashmir. Rolling stone featured my work after I was invited to US Capitol Hill to recite my poems and after I released a NFT of my poem last year.
Zaan thaav panini yihay chay myen zaan, Yeli che chandakh teli be raavay baaliye (Knowing thyself is the only way to know me, If you keep chasing me, you will keep losing me)
4. As a women's platform, Who are some women artists you admire?
Kashmiri poetess Lal ded for her mysticism, Lata Mangeshkar for her precision in perfection, the maverick Amrita Pritam for her I don’t give a damn attitude in life and in her writing, Adele for having the courage to cancel her album the last min and start again, Aynur Dogan for resistance poetry, Maya Angelou for her wisdom, Habba Khatoon for making melancholy so beautiful, Raj Begum for breaking the glass ceiling, Ishmat Chugtai for her realism, Sylvia Plath for rebellion and Louise Gluck for every drop of word she wrote.
5. You are among a handful of female lyricists in India. Who are some of the artists that you have collaborated with as a lyricist?
When I started writing I never set out to break barriers. I am living in the USA, so the opportunities didn’t just come to me. I had to walk to them often. I have been very fortunate to have worked with renowned artists like Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Ali Sethi, Hariharan, Anuradha Palakurthi, Harshdeep Kaur, Rashmeet, Archana Kamath, Noor Mohd. , Yawar Abdal and many other incredible artists.
6. Your work has been screened at many prestigious film festivals like Cannes, MAMI and Austin Film Festival. That is so exciting. As we approach the new year, what is your next big dream?
I like to talk about projects only when they are completed, it is not a spiritual thing just something I leant from my experience. Through my incredible association with Renzufilms I have worked on many human stories. One project that I do want to talk about is this movie that I had an opportunity to co-write for Renzufilms titled “The songs of paradise”. It is a musical based on Kashmir and it is unlike anything that has ever been made on Kashmir. It is in post-production phase and will be released soon.
As a lyricist I do have some songs releasing in 2023. Two of which are rap songs. My next book titled ‘ Tere Jaane Key Baad’ is almost ready. So, there is a lot on the plate and I am juggling it and loving the juggle. I follow a simple advice of Dory from Finding Nemo “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming”
“My breath is ancient
My body is middle-aged
My desires are unending
Memories are an addiction
Life is temporary
Love a distraction
Longing is Forever
Only lust keeps it, alive, pulsating
Wanderlust”
Thank you Sunayna for sharing your inspiring story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Sunayana Kachroo is an award-winning Poet, Filmwriter, Producer, Lyricist and a Columnist. Her oeuvre has been vast and impressive, encompassing Poetry, Films, collaboration with other artist including musicians, dancers and poets. She has written for various award-winning movies, which have been screened at many prestigious film festivals like Cannes, MAMI and Austin Film Festival.
Sunayana expresses herself through diverse styles of writing in English, Hindi and Kashmiri language. She continues to explore various themes ranging from Love, Home, Loss, Nature, Mythology, Healing, Women’s empowerment, Prejudices and much more.
Sunayana has performed across the world through Poetry shows and recitations. She engages the audience with her unique style of expressing poems as compelling visual images, laced with observations and anecdotes.”https://instagram.com/sunayanakachroo