Director Sonali Gulati talks about her documentary Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night, an in-depth look at the employees of one of India’s largest call centers, which services several American Fortune 500 companies.
Q: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
A: I was drawn to filmmaking through ethnographic films where I saw “others” (usually people of color in third world countries) being represented by mainly white men. And I began to wonder and ask the question: who has the power to represent whom? And what would happen if one got to represent one’s self? Would that representation change? So I began to make films about representing one’s self.
Q: Did the call from the telemarketer inspire you to do Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night?
A: Yes indeed. Outsourcing of jobs was not widely known at the time back in 2003 when I encountered this telemarketing call. I was fascinated by this idea of Indians living in India with American names and accents living in India and myself (also an Indian) living in the U.S. with an Indian name and accent—and how all of us were living as per the same time zone. It was quite intriguing to me with respect to the whole issue of identity.
Q: You bring up the irony that you’re an Indian filmmaker in America who meets employees in New Delhi who take on American names and accents and live on Eastern Standard Time. How did that affect you?
A: My friends and family in India consider my leaving India and living in the U.S. as an act of betrayal almost ... like I’m not “Indian” enough or I don’t love India enough to live here. However, my Indian-ness is restored and I’m forgiven when they realize that I haven’t picked up an American accent.
So it was quite fascinating to see how Indians with American accents living in India are viewed in relation to me. Their identities are not questioned. It’s seen as a job akin to an acting job where actors take on personas.
