Watch Critically Acclaimed Film Turup That Challenges Gender, Caste And Class Divisions Set In Bhopal
A still from the film
At Chakki Chauraha in Bhopal, a chessboard surrounded by resident men of all strata forms the fulcrum around which the socio-political realities of the area play out. But while the men are the visible players, it's the intertwined lives of three women negotiating their own moves as they struggle with gender, caste and class divisions that forms the premise of Turup/Checkmate. A fiction feature film made by Ektara Collective in 2017, Turup has received wide critical acclaim. This evening, two members of the collective will be present at its screening in Mumbai.
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The collective, an independent group of creative individuals, has a unique approach to cinema, wherein it collaborates with people to make films about their own realities. But they do so in a non-documentary format to avoid looking at people as subjects, and instead, cast them as actors portraying their own lives. “As filmmakers, we expect people in front of the camera to act a certain way. But when people who own their characters act, the dialogues don't look rehearsed; they come from a lived experience,” says Puloma Pal, the film's editor, who will be present at the screening with cinematographer Maheen Mirza.
Shooting on location for the film
The institution of marriage is explored through the character of an elderly, worldly-wise domestic help who chose not to marry, and a journalist married to a rich businessman, who gave up her profession. Themes of love jihad and the rise of right-wing fundamentalism play out through a young woman in love. “Bigger issues of religion, gender and caste manifest themselves in an everyday, micro fashion. The more marginal your identity, the more palpable they are,” says Bhopal-based Mirza.
The collective's members don't accept corporate funding, and share the idea of a project in the works through word of mouth. So, each film has an array of producers, with the cap for maximum contribution being '5,000. Turup has made it to several well-known film festivals, but that's not their primary audience, the filmmakers, who share directorial credit, say. “We want to take it to people who are waging their own struggles, filmmakers involved in the cinema of resistance, and to college students,” Mirza sums up.
ON Tonight, 6 pm to 7.30 pm
AT Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Ambedkar Road, Byculla East.
Register goo.gl/7QzeYU
Free
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