‘Daughters of Mother India’ on national TV soon

PANAJI: Maker of the national award-winning documentary, Daughters of Mother India, Vibha Bakshi, said she feared for her film’s future following the controversy triggered by Leslee Udwin documentary, India’s Daughter.
Both documentaries are based on the 2012 New Delhi gang rape incident.
The tides appear to have turned now, with Bakshi gushing that her documentary will soon be shown during prime time on national television in seven different languages, a sign that its subject has resonated with audiences.
“My film was released before India’s Daughters. After the controversy over the BBC documentary broke out, I was afraid and thought to myself that my film too would be consumed in it. But, I was clear - even before filming for my documentary began - that I would keep biases aside, as sensationalism is short-lived. I wanted to bring about a more far-reaching change,” Bakshi said. She was speaking at the ongoing 46^th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) in Panaji, where the documentary is presently being screened.
The filmmaker said that winning the national award for the best Indian film on social issues, strengthened her resolve to screen the documentary for as many people across India as possible before completing a year of winning the award.
“The documentary is being screened in schools across the country and is also being used for gender sensitization of the police force. I am doing four screenings a week and will not begin work on my next film yet. I am committed to this project for now,” Bakshi said.
“Rape is an opportunistic crime and is not going to stop overnight. Protests are also short-lived. There is a change in dialogues in Indian homes. The increase in the number of such cases being reported is a sign of the change. We, however, should not get deterred by statistics,” Bakshi said.