Bathroom Sex Scenes and Hidden Activism: Interview with Shonali Bose from Margarita with a Straw

[divider type=”space_thin”]Today I’m serving you a dope interview with Shonali Bose, director and writer of the critically acclaimed film Margarita with a Straw, a film I reviewed only a couple of weeks ago. Black Nerd Problems:Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! It’s an honor to be able to talk to you; I loved the film. Just so you are aware I am recording this conversation—I can’t type as fast as we’re talking! Shonali Bose: That’s completely fine. I’m glad you’re recording because I talk really fast. Um, about that…I fucked up. Or rather, I downloaded some stupid fucking app that ended up dropping the recording the minute I picked up the phone, so it fucked up. (Note to self: even though an app works through several trial runs, it can still screw you over in the worst way.)

Luckily I was paranoid enough to have taken meticulous notes throughout our conversation, and so while I don’t have as many direct quotes as I would have liked, I still have pretty much most of our conversation. Thank goodness too, because she said some pretty awesome shit.

BNP: I know the script underwent some serious changes in the process of writing it. What are some changes after your final draft was written that that resulted from suggestions by your co-writer or from the way you saw the actors play their parts? SB: Initially Laila was a straight character. Originally when Khanum — who was always written as a gay activist—hits on her, she says, “no, I’m straight.” I was told by the …