Showing posts with label Adrashya Nari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adrashya Nari. Show all posts

Monday, March 8, 2010

I am all cheery as i memorise the happenings three years back..i was shooting for my debut documentary, Adrashya Nari. It was 8th of March, 2007, Woman's Day and i was out in the field to document the facts on the theme essentially for women - their empowerment through education.

It later occurred to me that the shooting date coincided with the date of celebration for women the world over. And somehow i was self-assured about the task i was involved in. My second self, my alter-ego justified my involvement in the project as necessary and i proceeded.

A lot of appreciation and criticism later, (btw, the docu Adrashya Nari / Invisible Woman, wins yet another title - Silver Lei Award in the International Honolulu Film Festival organised recently under the Short Film category), when i am confronted with the basic question i started my project with, I feel like saying so much. Well, the basic question of how important is education for a woman? Can it really dissolve the social evils persisting in the country and the world over if we get all our women educated? The answer is a simple "No" and so seems very complicated.

The incidence of a ruthless murder of a woman by her mother-in-law and husband, occurred a few months back in the city. The culprits and the victim involved were all well-educated, belonging to well-to-do families. The incidence made headlines and was duly forgotten. Did education resolve the issue? Or did it stop any such incidences from occurring again? It could well have been possible if the woman who had to abandon her life to satisfy the cruelties of others would have voiced her protest against it, just at the time when it started.

So, it's also the matter of a strong value system or value education that a woman should possess, which she can pass on to her future generations. Not that our male members are incapable of doing it but it's always the lady of the house who can actually make or break our homes. Look around to find one as an example. It's never a bad idea to begin the change we always want to see around, at our own home! Charity does begin at home. Always.

Primary education is as essential as the values. There should always be something to fall back on in case destiny turns its back on the so-called lady-luck. Finances are as necessary for a woman as it is for a man. And now it's time she understands that.

Formal education coupled with value education, opens the door for wisdom that many of us lack.
Whilst the former is a bonus, the latter is the core, the fundamental root to the wisdom tree.

 And the decision you make of the biggest choices would often be driven by the value system you'd acquired over the years not only by the knowledge acquired by the books or degrees.

This emotional and logical connectivity goes a long way in leading a structured and balanced life.

Well I think Peter Brougham would agree:

Education make a people easy to lead,
but difficult to drive: easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.


Saturday, November 21, 2009


i had a small informal presentation at a Rotary Club meeting last weekend on the theme of women empowerment..and though the main attraction for the audience was AN (Adrashya Nari), an hour before the presentation i thought of preparing a small teaser before starting off with the actual highlight. Good that i was carrying my laptop!

Posting it here for my friends who weren't present at the meeting...


(Note - The images used have been taken from the internet, except a few originals from AN.. )

Thursday, September 10, 2009

A productive week




The week gone by reminded me of the Mumbai locals what with the time running at parallel speeds. By the time you realize you've just entered or rather been helplessly pushed by the swarm of people into your compartment, you're already at your destination; all tired and lost!..

My office work, people i met, decisions i made, everything was indeed a whirlpool of sorts!!

The most interesting part was when i met the most precious brand the creative world has gifted us - not "Liril" or "Lalitaji" or "Humara Bajaj", (the Bajaj campaign still gives us goose-bumps filling us with the feeling of pride and national integration!) but the creator of the legendary ads - Mr. Alyque Padamsee! His wit and child-like enthusiasm was unmatchable! I think this is the sign of all the creative geniuses - No matter how much the dusk clouds the colour of their eye, their heart still feels the bloom..

While addressing the students of a business school here in Indore, with ingenuity he spoke about entrepreneurship, "brandvertising" (an innovative nomenclature coined by him for the clever marketing of brands..where he explains that simply put, a great ad is the one which generates great sales..), about the history of the now national ad-anthems like "Liril", "humara Bajaj", "marzi hai aapki aakhit sir hai aapka", our very own "lalitaji" ..the ones which we associate our childhood with, about conducting FGDs (Focus Group Discussions) and much much more!!

Trust me, the next five hours with Mr. Padamsee were engagingly informative and thoughtfully insightful!! On a rathar informal note, after his speech i took his advice on my documentary film - "Adrashya Nari" and discussed how can it be better platformed, about the ethics of his "Fair and Handsome" ad campaign and the sensibilities of promoting the product in the Indian market and on our way to his destination - the indore airport, we discussed everything from women empowerment to Indian marriage system to his personal life experiences and so many other issues..and as we'd guessed he knew about almost everything under the sun!

Hid inspirational talks on Mahatma Gandhi, the young India and the advices on building brands and positioning was indeed contentful and detailed..his humourous narratives had us all rolling in the aisles! While seeing him off to the airport he handed me a boquet of flowers and wished us all good luck..

the experience was amazing and that of a lifetime! it was such a pleasure to meet the blue-eyed boy of the adworld! We love him for the everlasting impacts his cerative formations have left on us..they'll always remind us of our childhoods and will remain in our hreats forever.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Encore for AN..

dude!! this is amazing!! our docu, AN (Adrashya Nari) bags another Best documentary award in Filmsaaz '08!!

check out the link -
http://www.filmsaaz08.com/

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

THREE CHEERS TO THE "INVISIBLE WOMAN" TEAM...HIP HIP HURRAY!! x3

MY DAD WITH mR. AMIR KHAN..:)


When i told some people that i am planning to direct a film, they laughed it out saying "you're so shy and direction needs a certain smartness that you lack. you better give up the idea. it's not your cup of tea." But there were some real gems around who supported my idea and promised to join me in my project and my maiden effort of making an independent documentary as a director. with their blessings and support i addressed the root cause of so many major problems that India is facing today - lack of women education and empowerment. the true story of the girls of a village in Madhya Pradesh inspired me to work on the concept and after a heart-wrenching experience of a 5 day stay with the girls, i came to know many shocking incidences that still pervades the country - female foeticide being the most terrible one. i NEVER EVER imagined even in my dreams that just a few kilometers away from my home, where i live a life like a princess, there could be a place where girls are toyed with and are sexually objectified and some are even not allowed to step into this beautiful world!! we have read this, heard about it, but i witnessed it through the innocent and tell tale eyes of the girls of Narlay..



And the fact that how beautifully the efforts of one man is stopping these cruelties gradually, is a subject of not just admiration but a subject which stirs the soul to wake up to this reality and contribute.



i salute the efforts of the man and my team, ESPECIALLY MY LIL SWEETHEART, MY SIS, for her support and for getting me all the applause and a tear-jerking response of an emotionally charged audience on some scenes in the film, when it was shown in the 16isto9 International Film Festival. the festival saw the entries from the countries like US, UK, Cannada, China, Egypt and Sweden. From India there were entries from around 150 colleges. My film titled "Adrashya Nari" (Invisible Woman), got Silver for the Best Documentary (non-fiction) film. It was a star-studded event and the evening of the final day saw the presence of superstar Amir Khan giving away the awards. My dad received the award on my behalf as i could not attend the function due to my mom's ill-health. But the pleasure to have my dad receive the award was more than what i could have got if i was there on the stage.

It was an evening i'll always remember..:)