At least once in my life, I have complained about and had a discussion with my friends on this particular subject. I am a girl and I exist in the Indian society. I am 26 years old and the only topic I discuss frequently with my parents, relatives, friends, friends of friends, etc is (no prizes for guessing), marriage. I have internally and externally cursed my luck for having been born a girl-child and grown up in the 21st Century.
Why am I telling you all this? Because as rightly mentioned in The World Before Her, today, I have the opportunity to voice my opinion. As a girl, I have numerous struggles. Some of them loom larger than others on bad days. But one thing is constant: the struggle. Yes, if universally, change is the only constant, as an Indian girl, struggle is pretty much a constant.
As a student of film and a lover of cinema, I know it’s easier to gravitate towards a glitzy mainstream movie. But simply watching the trailer of this docu-movie The World Before Her, I felt compelled to pursue being able to watch it before it hits theatres, just to spread the word.
And my instinctive response was correct. This film will evoke a reaction in you, you will want to say so many things, question so many of your ideas and beliefs, share so many of your own experiences. You will want to engage in a dialogue after watching the film. And in my opinion, that is the biggest strength of The World Before Her.
As a documentary film-maker and director of The World Before Her, Nisha Pahuja has certainly steered clear of biases while shooting this film. That is the nature of the medium and she has presented facts in an accessible and enjoyable manner. Yes, there is a subtext. And that is the worlds these girls live in and how they perceive them. There is no moral judgement but a depiction of the extremes with which these lives are led. A representation of the dichotomy of our country, where traditional and Western influences exist. Do they co-exist? That is a question one needs to answer.
I don’t want to tell you about the contents of the movie. That you should watch. But I would definitely insist for you to watch this film, simply because this is a dialogue we should all be having.
And if you are going to spend your money at the cinema hall, this will experience will be worth the price. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap and PVR Director’s Rare for bringing this film to the general audience. And all the lovely actresses, Pooja Chopra, Nimrat Kaur, Kalki Koechlin for supporting this venture.