Run women, run! How 8 runners tackled obstacles to emerge as winners

Director Vrinda Samarthashy PicAjeesh F RawtherKolkatabased Mandira Ahuja is a star among her peers And for good enough reason too The marathoner mum of three opted to run through two of her pregnancies In fact on the day of the delivery of her third child Mandira who is a teacher by profession hit the treadmill and ran for 5 kms Once Mandira thought she had had a good warmup session she announced to friends that she was heading to the hospital for a CSection delivery Brave one would thinkYet in a new documentary mdash aptly named Limitless mdash that tells the stories of 8 longdistance women runners from across five Indian metros Mandira is seen fighting stigma in her own home Were you embarrassed when I was running Mandira is seen asking her daughter Yahellip the kid replies hesitantly Why she asks Because nobody elses mom runs the daughter saysDid people say something to you she prodsThe daughter moves her head sideways Then why are you embarrassed Mandira asks again only to get cold silence from the other end Mandiras story is a poignant reminder of the prejudices women runners face at home and even outside And adwoman turned documentarian Vrinda Samartha who has spent the last eight months researching her subjects does a fine job at translating their many sprints and bumps in her hourlong filmThe film which has been shot in Delhi Gurgaon Kolkata Mumbai Bengaluru and Chennai is 34yearold Vrindas first project as a filmmaker Set for release in festival circuits this month the film says Vrinda has one important message to give out Running is not just a sport for women Women world over have overcome obstacles fought their inner demons and sought innersolace through running Its their path to liberation the Bengalurubased filmmaker insistsIn these stills from Limitless Mandira Ahuja Seema Varma and Sharda Venkataraman are seen enjoying a runFirst approached by the Indian Amateur Runners Trust in December last year to make the film Vrinda who is an ad filmmaker started the production house Believe Films with Prasanth Varma was both nervous and excited about the project As someone who loves taking a break from the work grind to enjoy a run on Bengalurus streets now and then she was unsure of what kind of stories shed get when she started chasing the stories of these female runners Unlike ad films that are scripted and staged documentaries take on a life of its own You have absolutely no control over the story says Vrinda The stories happen to you by accident What you get is very honest real and rawAmong the many interesting stories that Vrinda encountered was that of 65yearold marathoner Sharda Venkataraman from Bengaluru who started running just about a decade ago I remember Sharda telling me how her mum and motherinlaw thought she was absolutely crazy to take to running at that age But it was only after she started bringing medals home that they felt that she was doing something worthwhile says VrindaShardas story takes the filmmaker back to what Mandiras daughter thought about her mum What I found amusing in these two narratives is that though the two women are at different stages of their life they contend with similar issues At 65 Sharda is still struggling to win the approval of the elderly women in her household while a younger Mandira has to deal with the shame her daughter feels at seeing her run and needs to keep explaining to her that its okay to be different As women we often end up judging each other due to societal conditioning We become victims to these biases Vrinda saysThen there is the story of Vasaibased marathoner Seema Varma Seemas grit and determination gives me goose bumps says Vrinda Seema decided to burn the turf only to help salvage her situation She didnt want to continue being a domestic help and live in the chawl She was struggling to change her life says Vrinda of Seema a mother of one who has separated from her husband The first time she participated in a marathon it was only for the prize money as she had to make ends meet Today Seema has been hired by a company which sponsors her at professional marathons She also teaches karate and is one step closer to living her dream of moving out of the chawl Running says Vrinda set the wheels in motion for SeemaHailing from different metros in India most of them urbane and progressive one would assume that safety wouldnt be an issue worrying female runners Yet says Vrinda each of them at least had one disturbing story to share Even in Mumbai mdash considered safest for women in India mdash a female marathoner relays the terrifying story of a man who begins masturbating when he sees her zoom past one morning in the upscale Pali Hill area The experience is so haunting that she chooses never to run alone anymore All the women who I spoke to had unpleasant experiences while running on the road which is why many of them insist on moving out in groups says Vrinda But in running theyve found a sense of belonging and a new purpose to life Its their escape and also their best friend the filmmaker adds