Shadows and Lights
The auditorium lights in Shanmukhanand Hall felt blinding as I walked up to the stage when the anchor announced, " Maharashtra State Award for Best Director-Documentary goes to Falguni Prabhudesai". I had put my complete energy in this film on migrant workers in Hadapsar, and the applause echoed like a tide crashing against the walls. I smiled, but inside my chest there was a storm of gratitude, disbelief, and a quiet ache. Is this the moment he will finally look at me not just as his daughter, but as an artist? I thought as I looked at my father, the greatest film director this state produced - Lalit Prabhudesai, sitting in the front row, his face unreadable as always. But it was not always like this... I often think of my childhood as a long corridor in our huge bungalow on Prabhat Road, lined with doors that never opened. Behind each door was my father, immersed in his films, his scripts, his endless discussions with colleagues. By the time I was born he was already f...