Children of the Pyre | Indian Documentary

More Documentaries scheduled for March and April via Enlighten Cinema.

Pink Saris | Indie Documentary

Sampat Pal, an illiterate, low-caste woman, set up the Gulabi Gang because of all the injustice and helplessness she’d experienced in her life. When 12, she was sent to a remote village to marry and was bullied by her in-laws. She rebelled against the stringent village rules and ended up on the streets with five young children.

Setting up the Gulabi Gang was her act of inspired desperation. Hundreds of women, all dressed in bright fuchsia saris, would gather to make a corrupt policeman enforce the law or to challenge a violent husband. Sampat, the ‘Commander in Chief’ of this group, is now famous throughout Uttar Pradesh. She doesn’t need to summon the Gulabi Gang anymore, she can often use her own notoriety to get results. In fact, Sampat is moving on to another stage in her life. Her struggles are now about what she will become.

At the heart of ‘Pink Saris’ are the four young women who we meet when they come to Sampat for help. They are all at a great crisis in their lives and see Sampat as their last hope. We watch their stories unfold; we know they are stories which are being played out countless times across India.

THE RAT RACE | Documentary

Ganesh pays homage to Mooshik the sacred rat before setting out with a torch and stick to kill 30 rodents every night. He reports to his boss, Behram Harda, who once dreamt of setting the silver screen ablaze with his boogying skills, but ended up maintaining records of the 2.8 million rats killed by his department over 35 years.

2000 young men compete in tests of speed, strength and accuracy to land one of the 30 job openings for night rat killers in India's commercial capital.
The Rat Race, winds its way through the grimy underbelly of Mumbai, through dimly lit alleys, crowded markets and overflowing garbage bins, to tell the story of the city's rat killers. Through their tales of love, sacrifice and survival one glimpses the human face of development, amidst the rough and tumble of a rapidly changing metropolis.

Rat Race won the documentary co-production challenge at Mipdoc Cannes 2010.

WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR:

Have been getting quite a few messages recommending a film that has been making waves in the festival circuit which finally released this Friday – Dhobi Ghat. Smitha Patil’s son Prateik debuts as protagonist `Munna’ a dhobi by day and a rat killer by night…

Dhobi Ghat has been on my movie radar even before I knew about its connection with rat killers. Kiran Rao is a friend and senior of mine from film school in Delhi. I remember hanging out with her and her roommates in their rented barsaati in Sukh Dev Vihar – shadow puppets dangling from the window screens and coloured patch work frames pasted on the walls. I didn’t realize then that one year later when Kiran and her friends moved out, I would make the very same barsaati my home and creative cocoon for the next 2 years!

Kiran’s final year film is probably the only one I remember among the dozens I have viewed in the preview theatre at MCRC. It revolved around a Bengali couple preparing a meal of mustard fish. The film stood out for its mellow approach and the ability to create drama from the mundane…This is the same quality that pervades Dhobi Ghat which is a quiet and meditative journey rather than a dramatic storyline, a film that you experience rather than view. Watching Dhobi Ghat gave me a sense of déjà vu because of the storyline that links characters with spaces to ultimately weave a vivid tapestry of the city of Mumbai, an approach I have been following consciously over the last 18 months to create a narrative for The Rat Race.

I was a little nervous that Prateik’s role as a rat killer would kill some of the novelty in my documentary. Prateik as Munna’ essays the most endearing role in the film, chasing his Bollywood dreams and his love interest while he juggles the jobs that earn him his livelihood. His scene as a rat killer is a turning point in the film but only as a dramatic detail. Phew! Am I glad…

The Rat Race truly proves that fact is often stranger than fiction. In a striking parallel to Dhobi Ghat, our protagonist 57 year old Behram Harda once dreamt of being a Bollywood dancer but he traded his boogeying skills for the security of a government job that entails counting the carcasses of dead rats every morning for the last 35 years. Watch our trailer and you will know why the audience at Cannes fell in love with his crackling energy, wit and humour. He is the reason that I decided I would make a documentary about rats even though I am terrified of rodents!

I am going to sign off in the words of Amir Khan in Dhobi Ghat “ To Mumbai – my muse, my whore, my beloved…” and also whisper under my breath “Back us up in our Rat Race to Cannes.” Amir Khan are you listening?!!

Check out the reward scheme for contributions to The Rat Race that have just gone up on the site. Thanks Paul, Debasis and Atin Bhai for vetting the legal terms and conditions.

Dhruv Dhawan | Documentary & Commercial Filmmaker

Directing Showreel - Dhruv Dhawan - Documentary & Commercial Films from Dhruv on Vimeo.

Dhruv dhavan nurtured his passion for documentary filmmaking, studying cultural anthropology at Duke University and film direction at the new york film academy.

Dhruv employs his skills as a documentary film maker to replicate a credible and emotive fabric in the advertising and corporate work. He has also harnessed the prowess of internet video to create interactive marketing and recruitment tools for his clients website.

His documentary work has garnered critical acclaim from the International Press, Human Rights Groups and the Film Festival Circuit. He is two time nominee for the best international documentary award in New York and Toronto and the recipient of the MIPDOC Co-Pro Challenge Award at the Cannes.

Aids Jaago | 4 short films by finest Indian Directors

About the AIDS Jaago Films

The much talked about, highly awaited short films from award winning Indian directors MIRA NAIR, VISHAL BHARDWAJ, SANTOSH SIVAN, and FARHAN AKHTAR that aim to dismantle myths and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Unaddressed, AIDS in India will soon reach epidemic proportions.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the films were the brainchild of Mira Nair. Forget dreary documentaries, India's finest directors put their individualistic stamp on these films, which use top Indian movie stars to maximize exposure of the films.

From South Indian superstar Prabhudeva, Irrfan Khan (Namesake), the iconic Shabana Azmi, to Bollywood stars Shiney Ahuja, Ayesha Takia, Boman Irani, Raima Sen, Siddharth and Sameera Reddy, Indian stars put their heavyweight audience draw behind the project hoping to change minds and save lives.

The result is 4 beautifully shot, rich stories about the human dimension of the disease.