20 Nov 2019  |   04:53am IST

A world of gender equality

National Award winning film director and producer, Vibha Bakshi will be screening her film, ‘Son Rise’ at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which throws light on the gender equality issue. A former business reporter for CNBC and founding team member for CNBC (India), Vibha feels proud that ‘Son Rise’ was selected by the United Nations as the face of the HeForShe movement in India.

Dolcy D’Cruz

Vibha Bakshi has been fighting for human issues,

not gender issues but human rights and she says it confidently through her film making skills. Her first film, ‘Daughters of Mother India’ focused on the issue of rape and gender violence and was the Most Awarded Social Pr Campaign in the World - Global Creative Index 2016. Her second film, Vibha’s latest gender rights documentary ‘Son Rise’ is this year’s Winner of the prestigious National Film Awards - Best Film (non feature) and Best Editing (non feature) at the 66th National Film Awards. The film will be screened as part of the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the non feature section on Thursday at Inox, Panjim at 8.30pm.

Speaking about the response of the film so far, Vibha is excited for its screening at IFFI. “The response has been overwhelming and the issue of gender equality deserves the attention. When we talk about gender rights, it is always women talking to women and it is important to treat it as a human rights issue and talk to men. That is the reason the film was selected by the United Nations (UN) as the face of the HeForShe movement in India. The message is that there are men who are doing the extraordinary to change the narrative on gender equality and we have found them. If we want to win the fight on gender equality, men and women must stand together in solidarity. This is the message that also resonates with the UN message for HeForShe movement and we are very humble and grateful that United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Women, Madame Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka came to Mumbai to unveil ‘Son Rise’ and we are proud that ‘Son Rise’ is part of the global HeForShe movement,” says Vibha.

As a non feature film, it requires a lot of research and interviews to highlight the various aspects of the issue. “With any documentary, a lot of research is required. We decided that in order to really have the people of Haryana trust us, it is important to spend time on the ground. We filmed ‘Son Rise’ for two years going across 45 villages. Initially, it was very hard for people. As a woman filmmaker, I was questioning the men. It was something that they were not comfortable with and it was very challenging for me. All the stories of the extraordinary people originated from the ground. Once we were able to win the trust of the people, it was actually the people of Haryana who led us to different villages and that’s where we found our heroes,” she says.

Giving a glimpse into the story of the film, she adds, “The heart of the film is this farmer, who in an arranged marriage, marries a gang rape survivor, giving out a very strong message that the shame is not her but ours. Eight men raped her continuously for one and half years. He is an incredibly brave man because he is still fighting against powerful men who are well connected. And yet he is not going to give up on this fight. When we met they had just got married. They are now parents to two children. During the filming and the trials, we saw her pregnant and she recently gave birth to a baby girl. There have been a lot of trials and triumphs in this story and what’s amazing is this man’s undying spirit to secure justice. ‘Son Rise’ is based on people’s lives who are trying to make change happen. It may not reflect the entire state but why not focus on those who are inspiring others to follow. I will cling on to hope however fragile it is but without hope we have lost the fight.”

This is their consecutive National award win. “Our previous film, ‘Daughters of Mother India’ which dealt with the aftermath of the rape and murder of Nirbhaya also won the award. This time, we won for best film (non feature) and best editing. It is the most prestigious awards for which we are absolutely honoured and humble as we feel there will be more people out there who support ‘Son Rise’ and the issue. We feel that with the UN women endorsing the film, and the National Film Award, this entire alignment is golden for the issue.”

Through her films, Vibha has been fighting for a change and she is happy that the conspiracy of silence has been broken. “Change is not going to happen within a couple of years. Earlier, it was very hard to even speak about it, today people are speaking. The amount of calls we are getting to screen these films across schools, colleges and corporate, the message we are getting is that people want change. They want to talk about it and I am very hopeful that by stirring a conversation, change will happen. As film cannot change the world but it can break the silence and that’s what our aim is. We are hoping that the government notices ‘Son Rise’ and we are able to catch the boys at 15 instead of men at 50. We are hopeful that we can work with the ministry to take this forward,” concludes Vibha.