Nakul Singh Sawhney

Nakul Singh Sawhney is an Indian documentary filmmaker who has extensively worked on issues of communalism, honour killing, labour rights and social justice. He runs Chalchitra Abhiyaan , a film and media collective in Western Uttar Pradesh in North India, with a special focus on local caste, class and gender issues through film screenings in rural areas, training local people to make their own films and news features.

He grew up in Delhi and attended Kirori Mal College in Delhi University. He was as active member of Players,[1] the dramatic society of the college. He then completed a course in direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, during 2005-06. Nakul was also actively involved with Jana Natya Manch.

Notable Works

Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai

His film '[2]Muzaffarnagar Baaqi hai that released in January 2015 is an extensively researched film on the sectarian violence in North India in September 2013, Muzaffarnagar riots, just a few months before the general elections in India. The film[3] traces the economic, communal[4] and sociological[5] fallout of the violence that not just led to religious polarisation for political gains but also displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The screening of the film was stopped[6] by right wing fundamentalists from the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Delhi University on August 1, 2015 where the filmmaker and the organisers including University professors were attacked.[7] Following which over 200 protest screenings[8] of the film were organised[9] all across the country to mark dissent[10] and support freedom of expression[11] in India.[12] Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PHd scholar, also screened the film in Hyderabad Central University on August 4, 2015 for which he was termed 'anti-national'.[13]

The film has been extensively screened and appreciated[14] in India and screened abroad[15] including MIT, Columbian School of Journalism, SOAS,[16] NYU and others.[17] It was also selected by Mumbai International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Kerala.

Izzatnagri ki Asabhya Betiyan

His film 'Izzatnagri ki Asabhya Betiyan' (Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour) released in January 2012 traces the resistance of young women against honour killings and diktats of clan councils called Khap Panchayats in North India.[18] The film explores caste, class and gender intersectionality in contemporary India.[19] Another version of the same film 'Immoral Daughters' has been screened[20] at several international film festivals.

Kairana, After the Headlines

Kairana, a small town in western Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district was in the headlines in June 2016. This is when Kairana's MP, Hukum Singh, from the Bharatiya Janata Party, claimed that there was an exodus of Hindus from Muslim-majority Kairana because of harassment by Muslims. To substantiate his allegation, he released a list of 346 Hindu families who had supposedly migrated from the town. It didn't take long, but the list was soon discredited. Many in the list were still living in Kairana, some had moved out over a decade ago for economic reasons, and while some did claim that deteriorating law and order was a serious concern, no one attributed their migration from Kairana to a Hindu-Muslim conflict. The film looks at the town and its politics, and the issues that affect it, beyond the binaries of Hindu versus Muslim. The film speaks to a range of voices from Kairana – from Muslim youth, to Hindus and Jains, the workers who have to travel far from the town for their daily wages, Dalits and women. The town, like many others in UP (and perhaps India) is today confronted with the grim reality of its real issues being glossed over under the shrill rhetoric of religious polarisation imposed on residents by influential politicians. In the midst of this despair, the film looks at the daily resistance of the people of Kairana and their struggles to bring back to the fore the real issues that afflict them. The film was instrumental in dispelling the myth around the communal binaries and exodus. It was widely acclaimed and released jointly by Chalchitra Abhiyaan and The Wire. It was screened at Film South Asia 2017, SOAS, London among other places.

Savitri's Sisters

One year after the public flogging of Dalits at Una in Gujarat, a call was given for ‘Azadi Kooch’ yatra (march). The yatra travelled through several towns and villages of Gujarat. The main demand was the handing over of land which was allocated to Dalits on paper, but has been illegally occupied by people from dominant castes for several years. During the yatra, a whole range of other socio-political and economic issues were raised; the issue of gender justice was the most prominent. Savitri's Sisters at Azadi Kooch looks at two emerging Dalit women leaders, Laxmiben and Madhuben, and their participation in the yatra. The film traces their journey, their struggles to reclaim the land that rightfully belong to Dalits and also an internal struggle within the movement to ensure that gender justice becomes an inalienable aspect of the march, as well as the larger movement against caste and capitalist exploitation. As they assert their agency as women, Laxmiben and Madhuben, in the process of discovering a world outside the domestic spheres, also hope to inspire many other Dalit women to join them in their journey towards an egalitarian society. The film was screened at various Indian film festivals and was released online. The film was especially applauded for documenting the making of new leadership among Dalit women, a theme rarely touched upon in contemporary Indian documentaries.

With a Little Help from my Friends

He directed his first film in 2005, 'With a Little Help from my Friends', which won the award for the 2nd best film at the 60 Seconds to Fame film festival in Chennai.

Other works

At the Film Institute, he directed 'Agaurav' and 'Undecided' that won awards for the 2nd Best Film and Best Director respectively at the Hyderabad International Film Festival. After completing his course, he made a feature-length documentary 'Once upon a time in Chheharta' on the history of the working class movement among the mill workers of Chheharta, Amritsar.

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References
  1. "Screeing of Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan". Allevents.in.
  2. "Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai". Scroll. Feb 19, 2015.
  3. "Blocked in DU, documentary 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' is a must watch". First Post. August 27, 2015.
  4. ""This was a conspiracy both by the BJP and SP" – Nakul Singh Sawhney Of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai'". Youth Ki Awaaz. April 26, 2015.
  5. "sociological". The Quint. August 26, 2015.
  6. "Film on Muzaffarnagar riots that ABVP didn't want us to watch". The Hindustan Times. August 28, 2015.
  7. "attacked". DNA news. August 1, 2015.
  8. "Stop us at one place, we'll spring up at a hundred: Nakul Singh Sawhney". Catch news. October 9, 2015.
  9. "Documentary on Muzaffarnagar riots screened at 60 venues across 50 towns in protest". Two Circles. August 26, 2015.
  10. "Stuck between censors and thugs". The Hoot. August 25, 2015.
  11. "Filmmaker Nakul Singh Sawhney talks about the making of his stirring film on the 2013 UP riots". The Times of India. October 10, 2015.
  12. "Fascism is at India's doorstep". The Times of India. October 10, 2015.
  13. "The director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' questions the logic behind terming Rohith Vemula 'anti-national' and 'casteist'". Scroll. January 29, 2016.
  14. "Violence frame by frame". Himal Southasia. June 1, 2015.
  15. "Film Screening, followed by a discussion with Director Nakul Singh Sawhney: Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai [Muzaffarnagar, Eventually]". Columbia University. March 28, 2016.
  16. "A screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai". University of London.
  17. "Free Screening, Discussion with Director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai,' April 13". Ohio University.
  18. "The Unbelongers". Caravan Magazine. September 1, 2012.
  19. "Izzatnagari ki Asabhya Betiyan: A reel take on real honour killings". The Indian Express. February 25, 2012.
  20. "Events". The New York Times. October 12, 2014.
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