London-based artist, Namrita Bachchan, labouring under a famous surname, returns to Mumbai with her first solo show, Give Me Space

London-based artist, Namrita Bachchan, daughter of Ajitabh and Ramola Bachchan, is in Mumbai, preparing for her first solo show, Give Me Space, at the Museum Art Gallery. The young artist, who studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Parsons in New York, is all set to make an impression in the artistic circles here and agrees to meet me for an exclusive preview.

Our conversation naturally sparks off from her bloodline. But rather than preparing herself to strike business deals in the family tradition or aim for the big screen, à la uncle, Amitabh and cousin, Abhishek, Namrita has struck out in another medium to discover her own forte. "Films are not all that different from paintings, for both are visual arts," she asserts. "Having a famous surname puts you under unnatural pressure but it also pushes you to greater heights to give that extra edge."

The shy, young artist had shown in Mumbai earlier - "I normally avoid openings as I am not really a social person" - and formed tentative impressions of the art scene here. "My work was exhibited as part of an auction a year ago," she says. "I think the Indian art scene is breaking out from something that was probably a little spent. Earlier, all the contemporary artists belonged to a much older generation. Now, I think a lot of young people have been given a platform to display their work."

She does not agree with the prevalent view that the 'Indianness' has gone out of Indian art. "The language of Indian art is more subtle, more discreet - there's something in the way an Indian person uses colour and hue. What's more important is that truth and certain values which are Indian must be reflected in your work rather than overt symbols of Indian culture. Everybody is wearing clothes from Gap, everybody is drinking Starbucks coffee, and magazines tell you what to wear each season! I feel the only way to preserve your identity is to be reclusive, since the moment you go out into the world, your identity is neutralised."

Her show, as she explains, is an amalgamation of work that "is part of many years of my exploration and mainly dictated by the materials that I use, allowing them to do what they do and seeing how far they can express themselves, like glue and gel medium transfers, which I tile and re-use.

"My work plays with the vantage point of the viewer - they don't know where they are, it kind of disorients them, and I like that."