They first met at his Indore home. She and her husband wanted to rent a flat and signed an agreement with the landowner. In December 2012, after the couple failed to pay the house rent, the landowner issued a verbal warning. The woman then filed a rape case against him. "The Nirbhaya incident had just come to light, so the cops were on their toes. There was not much investigation done and the landowner was sent to prison," Deepika Bhardwaj tell us. After being put behind bars for two-and-a-half months, the landowner was acquitted as the charges were proven to be false. "Eight days later, he killed himself. He could not bear the fact that nobody would marry his daughter with his image been tarnished in society. He was 60 years old," she adds on the story, which along with a dozen others, will feature in her latest documentary, India's Sons.

In 2016, Bhardwaj released her first documentary, Martyrs of Marriage, now available on Netflix. The 33-year-old former journalist had seen misuse of law up, close and personal. "My cousin was falsely accused in a dowry case by his wife. After watching the harassment and blackmailing so closely, I decided I wanted to document more such cases. I came across some devastating stories and realised I needed to help Martyrs of Marriage reach the masses so they know how the IPC 498A [Dowry Law] was being misused by some women," Bhardwaj says.