New film about Vrndavana widows

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Vrindavana Widows Film

 

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-4-30/69991.html

<table class="author" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="left">By: Madalina Hubert

Epoch Times Toronto Staff

</td> <td align="right">May 10, 2008</td> </tr></tbody></table>

A widow from the Association of Widows Alone, Rajasthan, India Photo by Noemi Weis (courtesy of HotDocs.ca)

Widows are second-class citizens in India. They are stigmatized, neglected and seen as a burden to society. But it is time for change. This is the message sent by The Forgotten Woman, the touching documentary by Indian born Canadian director Dilip Mehta, which premiered at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto on Thursday.

The film follows on the trail of award-winning movie Water (directed by his sister Deepa Mehta) which first brought the plight of Indian widows to international audiences in 2005. But while Water was a fictional story set in the 1930s, The Forgotten Woman is a very real depiction of the life of widows in India today.

This distinction was emphasized by Deepa Mehta at a Q&A following the screening (she is also the executive producer/writer of the documentary). With 45 million widows facing widespread discrimination, poverty and abuse, the issue certainly needs to be addressed. The film focuses primarily on the temple city Vrindavan, where poverty dominates and women come as much for food as for spiritual liberation. Vrindavan is a place of refuge for many West Bengali women who are shunned or abused by their own families following the death of their husbands.

While there are many factors contributing to the plight of Indian widows today, including antiquated traditions and ignorance, the gradual decline of the extended family also shoulders some of the blame.

The film takes the viewer on a journey from the rural to the urban, from poor villages to Vrindavan to New Delhi. But it is almost like entering different worlds--the contrast between these women's lives is striking.

The poor women of the slums of Vrindavan, forced to beg for a mouthful of rice, are a far cry from the educated middle class widows of New Delhi. But despite that, they all share the discrimination faced by widows in Indian society.

Hauntingly melancholy music and stunningly beautiful photography (director Dilip Mehta is an award-winning photojournalist) frame the stories of these women and capture both the deep pain and humiliation, but also the strength and dignity of the human spirit living in adversity. It is a testimony to the power of the camerawork that one does not only witness these women's lives, but one almost becomes a part of their lives.

Ultimately the film is about hope. The film introduces the viewer to two women who are actively trying to enact change in the lives of these women. Dr. Mohini Giri has been actively working to provide shelter and support for many of the widows of Vrindavan, while Canadian born Ginny Shrivastava aims to educate and empower women to overcome their dire circumstances through her organization Strong Woman Alone.

Their work shows that through persistence and determination, even deeply embedded prejudice can change. As Dr. Giri reminded the audience at the Hot Docs Festival, real change comes from the community not necessarily from the government. Fundamentally the film is about awareness – after all, only through the power of awareness can one ensure that widows are no longer the forgotten women of India.

The Hot Docs Festival is the largest documentary film festival in North America, screening over 170 films. It ran from April 17-27 in Toronto, Canada.