The Indian film industry is mourning the loss of producer Dipa De Motwane, who passed away on Saturday. She was the mother of acclaimed director Vikramaditya Motwane and a formidable creative force in her own right, navigating a decades-long career while raising her son as a single parent.
A Producer's Journey: From Associate to Industry Mainstay
Dipa De Motwane's career in cinema began as an associate producer on Somnath Sen's Leela in 2002. She soon contributed to the sets of notable films like Vishal Bhardwaj's horror-comedy Makdee the same year and Ashvin Kumar's adventure film The Forest in 2009.
Her most significant professional partnership was with her son. She turned producer with his directorial debut, the seminal coming-of-age drama Udaan in 2010. This collaboration flourished at the now-dissolved Phantom Films, where she worked on a string of critically acclaimed projects.
Her producer credits include films like Lootera (2013), Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), NH10 (2015), Masaan (2015), Trapped (2016), and Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2017). Later, she and Vikramaditya founded Andolan Films, named after the only film produced by her father-in-law. Under this banner, they produced the Netflix India thriller AK vs AK (2020) and the Amazon Prime Video period drama Jubilee (2023).
Navigating Bollywood as a Single Mother
In a candid 2023 interview on the YouTube channel Maitri by Amazon Prime Video, Dipa De Motwane shed light on the unique challenges she faced. She described herself as an outsider who had to practice severe self-censorship due to her personal life.
"I was a single mother. I smoked. I drank. I was the proverbial stereotype," she had confessed. Despite being desperate for work, she often declined offers because she did not feel the environments were safe for her. This lived experience made her acutely aware of the infrastructural and safety gaps for women on sets once she became a producer.
She championed basic necessities, from proper toilets to safe working conditions, even for costume departments accessing godowns at night. Dipa also recalled initiating systemic changes, like working on a call sheet to bring order, an effort initially met with skepticism by colleagues like filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.
Tributes Pour In for a "Tiger Mom" and Mentor
The news of her passing has elicited emotional responses from the film community. Actress Aditi Rao Hydari, who starred in Jubilee, shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, posting pictures with Dipa De Motwane and her husband Siddharth.
Hydari remembered her as a "Champion producer, Tiger mom to not just her own" and the "life of a set." She praised Dipa's nurturing spirit, warmth, and capacity to listen, calling her "Inspiration 101."
Dipa De Motwane's legacy is twofold: a body of work that helped shape a new wave of Indian cinema and a path forged with resilience that highlighted the need for greater inclusivity and safety for women in the entertainment industry.
