Director Kiran Rao Believes Laapta Ladies is a “Failure”

In a recent interview, Kiran Rao stated that Laapata Ladies is a failure. The movie ‘Laapata Ladies’ was not a big hit at the box office but it received a lot of love when it was released on Netflix India after eight weeks. It continued being the top 5 most watched Indian movies on Netflix.

Rao’s perspective: In the interview, Kiran Rao shared her career trajectory as a director. She emphasised her two movies- Dhobi Ghat and after ten years, Laapata Ladies. She described Dhobi Ghat as somewhat of a success according to the box office metrics of a decade back. But for Laapata Ladies, the box office collection was only 15 crores, far from a hit. The movie received its well-deserved acknowledgement when it was released on the OTT platform of Netflix India.

The mental impact of failure: Failure or any similar events of failure have their set of chemical reactions in the brain due to this extrinsic stimulus. The feelings of embarrassment, fear and disappointment set in. The kinds of hormones released during the time of success and failure are different. When we feel achieved, the hormones released are dopamine, endorphins and serotonin while on the other hand, in the situation of failure- the cortisol hormone is secreted in the brain. Cortisol creates the feeling of insecurity and lack of acceptance within ourselves.

Cortisol, as widely known, is the most essential hormone for stress. Its mechanism lies within the brain and manipulates our mood and level of motivation or fear. The fight or flight response is directly associated with the cortisol hormone. It is the mental procedure of how our brain reacts by perceiving the information from the external stimulus.

Altering of perception: With an experience of failure, it is highly common to have a judgement that gets distorted. These are judgments of self-image. Self-esteem often gets demeaned with experiences of failure and questioning the potential and skillset of oneself. Taking hold of oneself during such times of psychological crisis becomes essential.

‘Fear of success or fear of failure?: The gear of success is being afraid of failing. This fear is often unconscious, that is, the person might not even be aware of it that he is struggling with a fear of failing. It is difficult to perceive how real is this fear of worry. So instead of trying to enhance the probability of success, the person unintentionally spends his/her mental energy on developing a coping mechanism that hurts less when the situation of failure comes again.

Dealing with failure: Failure is indeed a difficult phase. How we react to it and bounce back defines us as a person and our integrity. Here are some tips that can be helpful.

Resilience: In the most simple terms, resilience is the attribute of bouncing back after hitting a low. The characteristic of being resilient holds great virtue in determining how we perceive and react to the external environment that disrupts our mental well-being.

Acknowledging and feeling the emotions: The spiral of disheartening emotions gets intense after an experience with failure. What is essential here is letting oneself feel it. Dealing with it does not compromise of just avoiding the hurt that one is feeling, instead taking some time and sitting with oneself lies at the heart of it. Giving yourself sometimes with the fact of success gives the value of success, escalating its probability.

Identifying harmful patterns: Identification and acknowledgement of such factors as unhealthy patterns that negatively impact us both physically and mentally can be the primary step. Accepting it and taking small steps to gradually overcome it further facilitate the possibility of moving on from the traumatic experience of failure.

In conclusion, it’s often the saying that failures are a part of our life but making it a part of oneself is equally important. We associate ourselves with our success, failure does deserve such acceptance since there are the inevitable and impactful events of our lives.