Vibha Bakshi’s Son Rise has been shot in Haryana. She said that she went to a state, which has the most disturbing history when it comes to crime against women. “But it was from this unlikeliest place that I found my heroes. I found ordinary men who are doing the extraordinary work of changing the narrative around gender inequality and justice,” she said.
The documentary highlights the rampant female foeticide that has led to the absence of girls in hundreds of villages.
The director said that when she first went to the state and met the biggest Khap leader, he said, ‘There is no space for women here’. “But today, he is screening the film in hundreds of villages. The heart of the film is the farmer, whom we met. He found out that the girl he was about to marry is a gang-rape survivor. She told him, ‘I am a tainted woman, don’t marry me. But he responded with, ‘The shame is not yours but ours’. He not only married her but also fought court cases. As a farmer, he has lost his land, fighting the case. This is not a scripted story but a documentary,” she said.
Nitin Shingal’s Letters is a short film about letter censorship during the Second World War. He said that the film is loosely inspired by Dev Anand’s life.
Kirti’s Mamatva, which means motherhood, is considered as one of the most powerful films about womanhood. The young director, who belongs to Uttar Pradesh, said that the idea was shared by her mother many years back. “She had told me that when women are unable to give birth, their lives are affected. The idea stayed with me. When my institute told me that I could shoot the film anywhere, I chose my roots. I wanted to play with the contrast of the idea — what if the midwife of the village is unable to become a mother?,” she said.
Kirti added that she has explored motherhood through the idea. “It is not that you need to have a baby to feel the emotions of a mother. I also love babies just like any mother. The journey of the central character explores that. We have explored the darker side of motherhood.”
Vibha shared that they took two years to shoot Son Rise and eight months to edit. “We had to gain the trust of the people, which took some time. Once that happened, we shot the documentary.” Son Rise has won the National Award for Best Film (Non Feature) along with many other awards.
Shingal said it’s high time people stopped differentiating between good and bad cinema. “Having said that, ultimately as storytellers, we have to tell our stories,” added Shingal, who is next directing a feature and a web series.