Growing Up with Documentaries…
When I was asked to write about the documentary scenario in India, I wondered how to best describe a subliminal existence, like a baby who can’t be ignored, but needs a helping hand to stand up and walk.
India started off with documentary films being made by the government agencies, and we kind of grew up with being forced to watch these “ugh” films before all the regular fiction film shows. I have amusing memories of a collective groan going up the moment these films started, and walking out of the theatre for a cigarette break. It did create a mind block difficult to unlearn.
Much later, when I was approached by a friend of mine to work with her on documentary films, I was at first aghast and then burst out laughing. The laughter lasted till she convinced me to watch a film about conserving energy….It was gripping, humorous, educative, eclectic, aesthetically beautiful, and cinematically superb! An entertaining conundrum simplistically put of what matters so much.
God, I was hooked. Suddenly I took the bait, hook, line and sinker. It kind of shook me up totally. There are these films, which we know nothing about, about subjects which matter so much and are so close to our heart. And 90% or probably more, of our vast population has no inkling about them. Ignorance is no excuse for a blissful existence. I was seized by an ardent desire to make these films accessible to people, make them aware, meet the film-makers and find out more about them, about the issues raised by them, about the people living with those issues.
It’s such a fascinating world, the real reel, grips and squeezes your heart and soul, so to say. And they have the power to make a difference. “Nero’s Guest” by Deepa Bhatia, forced the government to amend policies for farmer subsidies in Gujarat; Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir! By Shashwati Talukdar about a community being branded as thieves-and how they are trying to change that through the medium of theatre; a pestering journey by K.R.Manoj is a heart wrenching doc on the indiscriminate use of certain pesticides; Mariam Chandy’s “Rat Race”. Born and bred in India, I had no idea that there was a profession of “Rat Catchers”! It’s intriguing, to say the least.
Today, documentary films have become a part of my DNA.
About Anjali Vyas
