Wednesday October 16 * 9pm * Free / donations * RSVP

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, a collective of indigenous artists belonging to India’s ‘ex-criminal’ De-notified Tribes and associated with Budhan Theatre, decided to produce video-podcasts of the impact of the pandemic on the margins. This process was an effort to generate memory against processes of collective amnesia; and to usher indigenous communities to the digital space in a post-pandemic context, where the digital has become an essential component of our cultural and economic life. This film tells the story of the makers, who did not stop recording despite losing members of their own family along the way.

Mhara Pichchar (Our Film) combines storytelling with music, poetry, performance, and narration to bring to the fore issues and debates that are absent in mainstream media. The film traverses several strands covering the personal and artistic trajectories of the protagonists, using behind-the-scenes interviews of the creators and footage from the podcast as the narrative trope.

Director's Statement:
Mhara Pichchar (Our Film) is a deeply personal film. As the world grappled with the impact of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team of theatre artists felt compelled to give voice to the marginalised communities that were overlooked by mainstream media and government institutions. At a time when physical spaces were shut down, we turned to the digital realm to amplify the voices of those who were facing immense challenges and document their stories of survival.

As a filmmaker, I took it upon myself to train the Budhan Theatre team in the art of filmmaking. The journey was a fascinating one, as these individuals had never imagined themselves as filmmakers. Our protagonists reside in humble dwellings and lead lives that society often stigmatises, labelling them "Born Criminals." They inhabit congested ghettos, yet the theatrewalas-turned-filmmakers' determination to tell stories that matter, remained unwavering.

These aspirant filmmakers learned the craft of filmmaking through the act of creating this film. Our film unfolds with Ruchika Chhara, an actress from our theatre group and an aspiring filmmaker. The narrative goes on to explore the personal journeys and spaces of the filmmakers themselves, examining why they were driven to share the stories of others despite their own hardships during the pandemic. They employed personal interviews, songs, dances, skits, poetry, and more to convey the narratives they believed needed to be shared. Tragically, we lost Ruchika to a lung-related illness during the making of this film.

At a time when dominant forces threaten to rewrite the narrative around the COVID-19 pandemic, through Mhara Pichchar, we invite the audience to bear witness to the haunting realities of the pandemic and embrace the call for a more compassionate and resilient future.