Mumbai, Mar 6 (IANS): Anubhav Sinha, who is known for politically edgy films such as 'Mulk', 'Article 15' and 'Anek', has said he would be half dead if he were not helming movies.

Speaking at a FICCI Frames panel discussion alongside 'The Family Man' duo Raj and DK, Sinha said: "I was an engineer and I became a director, then it was out of no choice that I started writing. It has been for 30 years that I have been writing and now I enjoy it a lot. If I were not directing, I would be half dead, but the other half that would have remained alive, would probably keep writing."

Sinha said he would never be a producer, even though he has played that part in movies such as 'Gulaab Gang', 'Tum Bin 2' and 'Thappad'.

Explaining his change of heart, Sinha said: "Producing has become a rather inconvenient business. Financing and producing are two different things that most people do not get."

Talking about representation of women in key departments such as direction, Sinha conceded that it has "marginally increased, which is a good sign, and I hope it will get better."

He added: "There's one more thing I have started doing in the past few years. When we wrote scripts earlier, all our important characters were from upper castes. Sometimes it's inconsequential which caste they come from, but I make sure I tell all my co-writers to be mindful of the surnames of their characters."

On the work front, Sinha last directed 'Bheed', a social drama set in the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown days. It stars Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza, Ashutosh Rana, Pankaj Kapur and Kritika Kamra.