World Laps-Up Twisted Image of Indian Women Courtesy A NRI’s Documentary

WorldBeforeHerLately World Press is lapping up the story of an NRI film-maker, Nisha Pahuja’s documentary – The World Before Her. The film shows contradictory realities confronting girls in India and is so myopic that it made The Guardian go with this headline:

Bikini Girls_Killer GirlsWomen learning to kill or wear a bikini in India.

You can see the extracts from Nisha Pahuja’s new award winning feature-length documentary here:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/sep/12/world-before-her-women-india-video

Nisha+Pahuja+World+Before+Premiere+2012+Tribeca+cd-Sr_NATMGlThe  film is showing the extremes in a very twisted manner. Yes I agree that the facts shown are true but they are not the right yardstick to judge women in India. I presume NaMo – the Hindu Nationalist is already creating a warped perception about India. I didn’t like Pahuja’s documentary. Let me know what you feel about it.

4 Replies to “World Laps-Up Twisted Image of Indian Women Courtesy A NRI’s Documentary”

  1. The documentary like you say is a bit true but not the complete picture of what and how women live in India. India is so vast and the polarities existing at many levels but in the big picture, the documentary left much that could be told.

    It looked like a sensational documentary very clearly scripted to highlight the paraodox’ that are not the most ‘important’ part of women’s lives in India or the biggest truth

    I had posted this documentary on my fb page to see what people and many of them did get influenced by it.

    The bikini clad is no big deal as the nudity is measured against the so called social value system that India presumably lives..But the Hindu woman talking religion and preparing to kill is the truth that should be damned and not magnified!

    Abha
    http://www.amazon.com/Maryada-Rendition-English-Hindi-Edition/dp/8182533503/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376052653&sr=8-1&keywords=maryada+%27in+rendition

  2. Shalini says:

    This filmmaker, she wouldn’t get any mileage showing people like our sweet mothers, sisters, aunts and friends with normal lives on screen. With normal lives I mean, women who are truly adored by their fathers, sons, husbands, boyfriends! Ladies who are not beaten up using a hot iron rod or made to feel grateful about being allowed to live. :$

    For many foreigners, discovering ‘dirt’ from our backyard brings them voyeuristic pleasure that makes them feel good ‘inside’.

  3. bigmouth says:

    @Shalini- ofcourse she wouldn’t create a worth while subject just showing normal women- for that watch Oprah in India 🙂 Those loving father/sons/husbands/boyfriends you are talking belong to a small section of the Indian society…I’m fortunate to be born in this society like you are.
    But you will be surprised to know a majority of our population view women as inferior to them and these same father/sons/husbands/boyfriends wouldn’t bat an eyelid for beating up a women.

  4. sheetal says:

    @Shalini, I agree, the west does get voyeuristic pleasure from pointing fingers, but we as Desis are too quick to dismiss the “dirt” that exists in our backyard, frontyard, roof, cellar….kwim?

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