BENGALURU: Often when we think of patriarchy and its representation in films, we imagine overt depictions of violence. However, violence does not always have to be physical and can also be seen in small things that add up to a society rooted in patriarchy.
Filmmaker Rajni Basumatary’s third directorial Gorai Phakhri (Wild Swans), set to be screened on March 6 at the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), is one such exploration of inequality in everyday instances that go unnoticed.
“The general impression is that the Northeast is gender-equal and many people have the tendency to say that we are much better than that society but the societies we are comparing ourselves with are hardly a benchmark in gender equality,” she remarks.
The film, inspired by observations in her personal life, portrays the subtle yet impactful ways in which gender inequality manifests. “You don’t have to be harassed to say I am unequal. There are smaller instances – if you belong to a
financially backward family and have two children with the choice to educate only one, then it’s always the boy who is educated, not the girl. These kinds of inequalities on a small scale later turn into bigger problems. Girls think this is the way so they have to conform to it and boys think they are entitled to it,” explains Basumatary.
What also sets Gorai Phakhri apart is its all-female cast. “The idea was not to shun the male characters but as we progressed, we felt it would be fun to make a film on patriarchy without men,” she says. But how does one make a film addressing patriarchy without men? “If I tell everything,
it won’t be fun,” she laughs, adding, “It was not a handicap. We used pictures and voices instead of showing them on screen. It also goes to show that men don’t have to breathe down your neck to oppress you. They are always there, they are the dominant force.”
Set in the foothills of Bodoland, the film revolves around a doctoral student who comes back to her hometown for research and witnesses the effects of deep-seated patriarchy on the everyday lives of women. “When the separatist movements happened in our region, the women were hardly taken as partners. They are simply told what to do. Had it been an equal society, there would be consent sought,” adds Basumatary.
Basumatary notes that the response from the audiences has been heartwarming. “Women filmmakers are reaching the hearts of the audience,” she says. The writer-filmmaker, who has also acted in movies like Mary Kom says, “In independent films, you are always multitasking. I do enjoy acting because it’s a good break from my hard days as a filmmaker.”
5,000 cinema lovers gather on Sunday
The ongoing Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) culminated its third day with a footfall of over 5,000 cinema lovers who got to watch some of the best films from around the world and country. Marking 90 years of Kannada cinema, the festival had a panel discussion on Suvarana Karnataka Sambharama and 90 years of Kannada talkie; discussing various aspects of the industry. Representing the diversity of languages at the festival were movies like Moogajjana Koli, the first movie made in Arebhashe, a dialect of Kannada along with movies in Santhali, Markodi, and more.
(Gorai Phakhri will be screened on March 6, 10.20am at Screen 6 at the PVR Inox, Orion Mall, Rajajinagar)