Pagdandi films is the brainchild of Naveen Macro and Sanskriti Talwar. They used to work as photojournalist and reporter respectively at The New Indian Express in Delhi, until they quit to work as independent journalists. After nearly a year-and-a-half of going solo, Talwar approached Macro to shoot a video story on the ASHA workers’ strike in Delhi last year. The mutual desire to continue with ground reporting on issues around marginal groups and rural India cemented the partnership. They hope their films, two made so far and available to watch for free on YouTube, help bridge the divide between ultra urban India and the country’s hinterland. 

The name, Pagdandi, refers to a narrow uneven path made by villagers to reach their farm which would wash out every year due to the weather, and be made again. The name holds a personal connect for Macro because, “most of my extended family are farmers from Rajasthan and I have spent a lot of time as a kid in the village.”
Talwar is passionate about covering gender. After working in print, she realised that, “the quantity started to matter rather than the quality and the Hindu Muslim angle got on my nerves”.