As long as she has a voice, she will not be silenced. Throughout her career, she has fought tirelessly for women’s equality in the entertainment industry. Even when she’s playing reinvented Sufi, qawali, and Meera bhajans, she doesn’t mind showing a little skin while she does it. It doesn’t bother Sona Mohapatra, the singer-performer, when trolls and the like attack her for her music. Regardless of how much she receives, she doesn’t hesitate to give it back in full. Her singing and activism are all about giving voice to women who continue to be treated as secondary to men.
She is not shy in expressing her displeasure with the male-dominated music industry. Shut Up Sona by Zindagi Special Projects takes a lighthearted look at the musical and activism efforts of a fiery female vocalist. Does not matter how much it appears that the #MeToo movement in India has slowed or stalled, Mohapatra isn’t giving up hope. People are more conscious now. People are now required to sign paperwork that includes the phone numbers of resources they may call in the event of any kind of misbehaviour including sexual content. She insists that these are not modest changes at all.
As she fights for equality in a society besieged by bigots who are uneasy about her liberation, she is unyielding and strong. As the youngest of three sisters, she was labelled a renegade from an early age. With her own brand of music that blends pop with folk, rock with Bollywood and everything in between, Sona has become one of the most successful singers/songwriters/composers of our day. Even though she was born in a tiny village in Orissa, the young singer has made a reputation for herself in the male-dominated music business. In a documentary by Deepti Gupta, titled ‘Shut Up Sona,’ the singer/responses activists and thoughts are intermingled with trips to locations of mystical, historic and religious significance, rehearsals and backstage moments, performances and emotions are all intertwined in a dramatic way. Her celebrity advocacy relies heavily on social media.
She’s been vilified, sued for blasphemy, and even threatened with death in a number of different venues. “Calm down” is a common request from her music composer spouse and business partner, Ram Sampath. The two of them regularly discuss the difficulties she experiences as an outspoken feminist in a post-independence India in their calmer moments at home. It doesn’t matter how strong Sona is; the nuts on this planet are beyond her control. Rather than religious leaders, she is fighting against patriarchy and gender prejudice, as she so eloquently puts it. For three years, Deepti Gupta has followed Sona faithfully and gathered enough evidence to portray a rebellious individual determined to expose injustice and bring about change. As a cinematographer, Gupta’s credits include Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. and Fakir of Venice. Her familiarity with Mohapatra’s work is a certainty. This documentary, which won a National Film Award, has a voice that needs to be heard because of its ease and comfort.