Ten women from M East Ward in Mumbai collaborated to create a documentary reflecting their lives and experiences.
But it was among the first questions 10 women asked when they picked up cameras to make a film about their own lives. Eighteen months later, the women from M East Ward, which covers areas such as Deonar, Govandi and Mankhurd, had learnt to shoot, edit and co-direct Mast Mahila Mandali, a 72-minute documentary. The 10 co-directors — Anjum Shaikh, Rehana Shaikh, Kavita Ghuge, Nazneen Siddiqui, Gauri Rane, Kavita Khomne, Sheetal Navle, Rohini Kadam, Vaishali Mane and Darshana Mayekar — were selected from 50 women who submitted video auditions. From 72 hours of footage, the women shaped a 72-minute film. The 10 women had to negotiate differences in their backgrounds and opinions as they decided what their collective story should look like.
MUMBAI: “Madam, record button kaha hai?” is not a question you expect from a filmmaker. “Hum bhool gaye the hum kaise the (we forgot who we were),” said Gauri Rane. The film was recently screened at KC College, Churchgate, at an event organised by the Women Development Cell of HSNC University, Mumbai, and the college’s Gender Issues Cell. Filmmaker and TISS professor Shilpi Gulati and CORO India activist Supriya Jaan had posed two questions: “Who were you before marriage? “Who am I as an individual, beyond my husband, my family and my relations? And what they chose to show was not only hardship. The film records experiences of domestic abuse, leaving husbands, raising children in difficult circumstances, and learning to navigate daily struggles alone. But alongside these are scenes of women practising for a kabaddi match, going to the gym, dancing, listening to music and getting professional makeup done. The camera lingers on details that might otherwise be overlooked — flowers, a woman riding her bike, music and moments of laughter — allowing the everyday to sit alongside the difficult. Making the film, however, was not always easy.
Who are you today?