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Those ‘others’…

Watch this film if you’re interested in transgender issues; the film is about Urmi, a transgender living in Mumbai city.
by Medha Kulkarni

Today, a film on transgenders will air at the New Marine Lines-based Alliance Francaise, an educational organisation with a non-profit cultural goal. Titled Urmi, the film is a 2010 film by Jehangir Jani and it tells the story of Urmi, the protagonist, a transgendered person living in Mumbai. Urmi roams the city of Mumbai and the film chronicles her search for love and meaningful relationships within the context of a quest for a self-identity. It is an interesting perspective on a city that most of us call home and yet, because of gender dynamics in the city, we rarely get to see.

The film was a TISS-UAGC funded project (Tata Institute of Social Sciences-Urban Aspirations in Global Cities) and is a part of their massive campaign to spread awareness about and to sensitise people to gender issues and dispel myths and the resulting social evils that are born out of ignorance.

Pallav Patankar (in pic on left), director of the HIV program at the Humsafar Trust, is also the actor in the film. “The aim of this film is to highlight the issues that members of the transgendered community face in daily life. It aims to show the ups and downs in their lives and thus help mainstream society understand them” he says.

The film promises to be an interesting one and the panel discussion which will be chaired by Chitra Palekar (film director and LGBT supporter), Jehangir Jani (artist whose work revolves around gender and sexuality issues) and Pallav Patankar, and will throw up some interesting perspectives. The event is free and open to all. Seating is on first-come-first-serve basis.

The Humsafar trust, was set up in 1994, is the first openly gay community-based organisation to be allotted space in a municipal building. It seeks to provide the gay community (and increasingly the entire LGBT community) in Mumbai and India with various facilities to provide the community with the knowledge and resources they require and also works to dispel the prejudice that society has towards this segment of people.

Head to the Alliance Francaise Auditorium, 40, Theosophy Hall, Vithaldas Thackersey Marg, New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Mumbai. The film starts at 6:30 pm.

(Pictures courtesy deccanchronicle.com, mumbaiboss.com. Featured image is a file picture used for representational purpose only and is not a still from the film)

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Strictly a Monday evening affair

Tonight, Vikalp@Prithvi showcases two powerful documentary films about women who challenge the norm, and women trapped in a barbaric tradition.
by Medha Kulkarni

On every last Monday of the month, Vikalp@Prithvi organises free film screenings at Prithvi House. Vikalp@Prithvi is a collaboration between Prithvi theatre and Vikalp, which conceptualised and started ‘Films for Freedom’ six years ago in 2007 and has since screened several award-winning documentaries and brilliant short films.

What’s more, these films are made accessible to the general public for free.

The initiative is run by documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and Chandni Parekh, psychologist and creator of online initiatives Chandni.org and Fund-A-Cause.

An assault on freedom of expression is an assault on democracy – this idea gave birth to Vikalp. What started off as a small festival has now morphed into a full-fledged movement. Vikalp insists that it is not an institution or a copyrighted idea, but is simply an inspiration, one that strives to ensure that voices of dissent will not be quashed or silenced.

Thus, the screenings that take place in various cities across the country are not necessarily in the name of Vilkap, although they do embrace its ideology. In Mumbai, there are specifically three venues that are said to be associated with this idea, namely the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Deonar; Alliance Francaise in Marine Lines, and of course, Prithvi Theatre in Juhu.

“All our shows are packed,” says Chandni. “Right from students, NGO professionals and filmmakers to bankers…the crowd is diverse and the post-screening discussions are enriching.”

Chandni says that the most memorable moment for Vikalp@Prithvi was in 2010, when they showed Deepa Bhatia’s film on farmer suicides, Nero’s Guests. “Many audience members voluntarily contributed to the donation box that we passed around to most of them at the end of the screening. We donated the entire amount of Rs 9,500 to Deepa to support the farmers in Maharashtra, whom she and journalist P Sainath have been helping,” Chandni says.

If you’re planning to catch a film today, you could consider these two powerful films at Vikalp@Prithvi:

Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan (The Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour):

A documentary film about women who take on the powerful (and deeply misogunistic) khap panchayat is a powerful film that addresses the issues of ‘honour’ crimes, injustice and social boycotts. Directed by Nakul Singh Sawhney, the 93-minute long film chronicles the lives and stories of five young Jat women who rallied against the Khap Panchayts in their quest for freedom, justice and equality. The stories of these women are juxtaposed  with those of the Khaps. This poignant film exposes the double standards and violence that are conveniently kept out of sight and yet happen even today in a so-called modern India. The trailer of the film is here:

 

A Pinch of Skin:

This film talks about the hushed-up but rampant evil about the practice of female genital mutilation. The award-winning film exposes the brutal betrayal of innocent young girls, perprutated by a society that appears modern and yet retains the mindset of a cruel medieval one. In the guise of keeping a check on female sexuality, young pre-adolescent girls who have no control over what is being to them are the victims who have live with the burden of this life-long trauma. The narrative explores the voice of dissent (which sees this as politics of a sexual kind) intercut with those that insist that this heinous practice should be kept alive invoking the name of tradition. It is directed by film maker Priya Goswami who will be present for a Q & A session after the screening.

Screening Details: Head to Prithvi House, opposite Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, at 7 pm today, March 25. Entry is free, on a first-come-first-seated basis.

(Picture courtesy Chandni Parekh. Image is a file pic showing a post-screening discussion.)

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A great idea takes Root

The Root Reel, an initiative to bring good documentary films and discourses on them to the public, turns one today.
by Medha Kulkarni

It started off as a simple idea born out of sheer love for good documentary films and after 12 months, incredible documentaries, critical engagements, passionate debates and discussions, The Root Reel celebrates its first anniversary today.

Part of The Root, which was conceived as a platform to facilitate discourses and expression on social and environmental issues through workshops, music, film (whether animation, documentary or short film), and other cultural avenues, The Root Reel deals specifically with films. In the course of the last year, The Root has set up various forums that saw the exchange of ideas and thoughts and encouraged a critical engagement with the issue at hand.

The Root Reel has been organising documentary film screenings once a week at the Alliance Francaise Auditorium, either in collaboration with another organisation or by themselves. This weekend’s film screening is extra special as it marks a milestone in the life of The Root Reel and has been organised in conjunction with the Indian Documentary Foundation (IDF). The film being showcased is Whores’ Glory and it is being shown on a first-come-first-seated basis.

Prior to this, The Root Reel has showcased such films as Megacities, Between The Lines, NEXT: A Primer On Urban Painting and Blood In The Mobile.

Those of you that can get out of work by 6 pm today, head to the Alliance Francaise Auditorium, Theosophy Hall, near Nirmala Niketan, Churchgate, to watch this film and stay back for a bit and participate in the discussion thereafter. The film is directed by Michael Glawogger and is 90 minutes long. Entry is free.

About Whores’ Glory:

Whores’ Glory is a cinematic triptych on prostitution: three locations, three languages, three religions. Paradise, the world and the hereafter merge in prostitution to create an image of the relationship between men and women. In Thailand, women wait for men behind glass panes, staring at reflections of themselves. In Bangladesh, men go to a ghetto of love to satisfy their unfulfilled desires on trapped girls. And in Mexico, women pray to a female death so as not to see and feel their own reality. Where the most intimate becomes a commodity, the product is expensive and fiercely contested.

Look for more details on The Root and their events here.

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VIDEO: Painting his love for Madhubala

Artist, painter Ranjit Dahiya is hard at work on his Madhubala mural at Bandra. The painting will be complete tomorrow.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Ranjit Dahiya (slowly gaining fame for his much-feted ‘Bollywood Art Project’) is currently doing what he is best known for – painting huge murals of yesteryear Bollywood stars. He is currently painting eternal Queen of Hearts Madhubala right next to his last smash hit, a mural of the film Anarkali.

He started painting the mural two days ago, timing the activity to coincide with Madhubala’s birthday on February 14. “I was looking for a particular image of her, and I spent some time looking for it on the Internet,” he told The Metrognome. The harsh weather and long periods of standing on a shaky ladder are taking a toll on him, but Ranjit was still going strong on Day 3 today. “I’ll finish most of it tonight, and tomorrow after a few final touches, it will be complete,” he said.

If you’re in Bandra today and want to cheer Ranjit on or simply gawk at the big canvas he’s working on, head down Chapel Road and ask for the artist who painted Anarkali. Or head to the site tomorrow to view the completed work. With his track record, this one’s going to turn out well, for sure.

Watch Ranjit in action on Day 3:

 

 

(Featured image courtesy Ranjit Dahiya. Video by The Metrognome) 

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VIDEO: Activist Sulaiman Bhimani attacked

RTI activist Sulaiman Bhimani’s office was attacked by a group of men two days ago, but they fled within seconds. Bhimani himself sustained a minor injury.
by Krishnaraj Rao

On the afternoon of January 12, at about 3 pm, eight unknown men entered Mumbai-based RTI activist Sulaiman Bhimani’s office located at Goregaon with sticks and swords, and smashed a laptop, a printer-scanner and a computer keyboard.

The attack ended within 10 seconds as Bhimani’s neighbours raised an alarm. While retreating hastily, they slashed wildly at the nameplate with their swords, and kicked at the wooden door frame, smashing it. Bhimani escaped with only an injury on his finger.

Fortunately, this entire episode was captured on two CCTV cameras installed inside and outside Bhimani’s office. (The man seen on the right in the pink shirt is not Bhimani, he is a visitor. Bhimani, being directly seated under the CCTV camera, is not visible in the footage below.)

A man wearing a T-shirt is seen entering from the main door into the office of Sulaiman Bhimani, and abruptly smashing a laptop, before dropping his stick and fleeing. The other assailants are seen through the glass, swinging wildly to damage the office equipment before they retreat. The attack ended within 10 seconds. Bhimani, who suffered only an injury on his finger, is not seen in the footage as he was seated directly under the CCTV camera.

The man in the blue shirt talking on the phone is a visitor, and he completely fails to react as the people wearing handkerchiefs and carrying sticks and swords walk into the cabin. (This man is the “rounder” of a well known security agency.) While retreating hastily, the assailants slashed wildly at the nameplate with the swords, and kicked at the wooden door frame, smashing it.

Bhimani feels that the men were sent by a local builder due to his expose that involved a builder, MMRDA and a plot of land at Gilbert Hill. (Read details of the case here). The builder and unlawful elements mentioned in this report suffered losses of several crores when MMRDA cracked down on them recently, evicted 50 tenants with police action, and served eviction notices on 102 others. They have criminal records, and have allegedly threatened Bhimani in the recent past.

An FIR was registered under IPC sections 452, 427, 323, 143, 144, 147, 148, 149 in the matter. The case has been made against eight men for rioting, criminal intimidation and unlawful assembly.

Krishnaraj Rao is an RTI activist.

(Picture and videos courtesy Krishnaraj Rao)

 

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Some Friday comedy

M digs out some unintentionally funny videos that are guaranteed to make you laugh harder than today’s big ticket release.

Sometimes one needs a few chuckles to be relieved from the monotony of one’s daily chores. And most of the time we expect this from the most traditional source of entertainment – films. But, in vain, as recent films’ level of ‘humour’ has left us nonplussed.

The degrading quality of humour in our movies these days has ceased to astonish me any more. The  latest addition to the lack of comedy is Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola for lines like, ‘Raja dil saand ho na, toh har ladki bhains dikhaye deti hai, meri jaan.’ HAHAHAHAHA. Not.

The essence of comedy as an art is all but lost. And so our urge to laugh is dying.

But worry not, there is some hope left in the world of films to evoke a gurgle or two. I’ve found a few such examples for your viewing pleasure – ironically, these scenes were not intended to be funny. The point is, watch these videos and don’t feel too bad if you haven’t got a ticket, yet, to watch Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and her pink buffalo.

Comedy #1) This guy is probably under the influence of a very powerful drug, which could explain the killer dance steps. Do watch the whole song, you don’t want to miss these moves.

 

Comedy #2) You’ve never seen anything like this before. Viewers’ discretion is advised. Scenes are gory and hilarious.


Comedy #3) For the days you’re missing a good Superman flick.

 

Comedy #4) The Indian Matrix, starring Vijayakanth from down under…

 

Comedy #5) Vijayakanth does it again. This time with Windows Media Player. I’m going to sue Windows for prejudice – why doesn’t my version do the same?

 

M is a media professional with an eye on entertainment.

(Picture courtesy filmaffinity.com)

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