Kinjal

A film about a young school going, 'employed' girl in a working class environment. Raising issues of gender and 'aspiration', the director has used an improvisational film technique to make a reflexive piece of cinema that constantly refers to its own making.

My diploma film

My diploma film set in Madanpur Khadar,a semi-urban settlement on the outskirts of Delhi. The project started with frequent visits to the basti and understanding what young women their wanted. Over a period of 3months, I found that they were going to school not to get an education, but to get a job. Over the next month, I got some of them together and worked on the story of this film. Using elements from popular culture - soap operas, films and a lot of hamming in the acting, I tried to make a film that people in that community would be comfortable viewing and not make it a talk down elitist lecture. I produced it with a no funding at all, but a lot of help from friends. Once the film was ready, one could see the impact it had on the audience. UNFPA bought the film a few months later.