Nakul Singh Sawhney

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Nakul Singh Sawhney
Years active2006-to present
EmployerIndependent Documentary Filmmaker
SpouseNeha Dixit

Nakul Singh Sawhney is an Indian documentary filmmaker. [1]

Contents

He grew up in Delhi and attended Kirori Mal College in Delhi University. He was as active member of Players, [2] 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.

He is married to award-winning journalist Neha Dixit

He is currently[ when? ] making a film on the 2020-2021 farmers' protest, the largest and the longest protest in modern world history.[ citation needed ]

Notable works

Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai

His film ' [3] 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 [4] traces the economic, communal[ citation needed ] 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. [6]

The screening of the film was stopped [7] by right wing fundamentalists from the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Delhi University on 1 August 2015 where the filmmaker and the organisers including University professors were attacked. [8] Following which over 200 protest screenings [9] of the film were organised [10] all across the country to mark dissent [11] and support freedom of expression [12] in India. [13] Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PHd scholar, also screened the film in Hyderabad Central University on 4 August 2015 for which he was termed 'anti-national'. [14]

The film has been extensively screened [15] and appreciated [16] in India and screened abroad [17] including MIT, Columbia School of Journalism, SOAS, [18] NYU and others. [19] It was also selected by Mumbai International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Kerala.

This film was hosted on Netflix for three years.

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 [20] against honour killings and diktats of clan councils called Khap Panchayats in North India. [21] The film explores caste, class and gender [22] intersectionality in contemporary India. [23] Another version of the same film 'Immoral Daughters' has been screened [24] at several international film festivals.

Savitri's Sisters at Azadi Kooch

A short documentary on the how two Dalit women, Laxmiben and Madhuben, from rural Gujarat march to reclaim the land that rightfully belongs to Dalits, a community subjected to untouchability practices and acute socio-economic marginalisation . Released in 2017. Screened at Oxford University, Göttingen University, and others. [25]

Kairana, After the Headlines

The film tries to look at the town of Kairana beyond the externally imposed binaries of Hindu-Muslim, and tries instead to look at the real issues that confronts the town. Released in 2016. Screened at several Universities in India and globally [26]

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[ citation needed ].

Other works

At the Film Institute, he directed a short film, 'Agaurav' starring Divyendu Sharma and Jaideep Ahlawat and 'Undecided' that won awards for the 2nd Best Film and Best Director respectively at the Hyderabad International Film Festival[ citation needed ]. After completing his course, he made a feature-length documentary 'Once upon a time in Chheharta' on the history of the working class movement and the mill workers of Chheharta under the leadership of Communist leaders Satyapal Dang and Vimla Dang, Amritsar.

Chalchitra Abhiyaan

He founded Chalchitra Abhiyaan in 2016. This film and media collective trains local people from marginalised communities in film technologies. [27] The collective produces a range of video-based content prime among which are short-document films, news features, and live broadcasts. The goal is try to bring to the fore local issues from the grassroots that concern different marginalised communities in their own voices. The collective also organizes film and video screenings including international cinema and news features in remote villages in North India. [28] It is followed by debate and discussion on the topic. Attended by hundreds of people weekly, this has built a regular, large offline viewership.

YearFilm
2017Savitri's Sisters in Azaadi Kooch
2016Kairana, After the Headlines
2015Muzaffarnagar Baaqi hai/Muzaffarnagar Eventually
2012Izzatnagri Ki Asabhya Betiyan/Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour
2010Once Upon a Time in Chheharta
2007Agaurav
2005With A Little Help From Friends

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References

  1. ↑ India Retold Dialogues with Independent Documentary Filmmakers in India, Rajesh James, Bloomsbury, 2021
  2. ↑ "Screeing of Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan". Allevents.in.
  3. ↑ "Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai". Scroll. 19 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Blocked in DU, documentary 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' is a must watch". First Post. 27 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "sociological". The Quint. 26 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Indian Documentary Film and Filmmakers: Practising Independence, Shweta Kishore, Edinburgh University Press, 31-Dec-2018
  7. ↑ "Film on Muzaffarnagar riots that ABVP didn't want us to watch". The Hindustan Times. 28 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "attacked". DNA news. 1 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Stop us at one place, we'll spring up at a hundred: Nakul Singh Sawhney". Catch news. 9 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Documentary on Muzaffarnagar riots screened at 60 venues across 50 towns in protest". Two Circles. 26 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Stuck between censors and thugs". The Hoot. 25 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Filmmaker Nakul Singh Sawhney talks about the making of his stirring film on the 2013 UP riots". The Times of India. 10 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Fascism is at India's doorstep". The Times of India. 10 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "The director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' questions the logic behind terming Rohith Vemula 'anti-national' and 'casteist'". Scroll. 29 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Things That Can and Cannot Be Said, John Cusack and Arundhati Roy, Penguin books Limited, 2016
  16. ↑ "Violence frame by frame". Himal Southasia. 1 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Film Screening, followed by a discussion with Director Nakul Singh Sawhney: Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai [Muzaffarnagar, Eventually]". Columbia University. 28 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "A screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai". University of London.
  19. ↑ "Free Screening, Discussion with Director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai,' April 13". Ohio University.
  20. ↑ Handbook of Pragmatics,Jef Verschueren,John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2020
  21. ↑ "The Unbelongers". Caravan Magazine. 1 September 2012.
  22. ↑ Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens, Uma Chakravarti, Sage Publications, 2018
  23. ↑ "Izzatnagari ki Asabhya Betiyan: A reel take on real honour killings". The Indian Express. 25 February 2012.
  24. ↑ "Events". The New York Times. 12 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "They Sang through the Dark Times: Nakul Singh Sawhney's Latest Documentary Savitri's Sisters". 5 September 2017.
  26. ↑ "Kairana "After the Headlines": A Bold Film That Gives the Villager a Voice".
  27. ↑ Communicating for Social Change Meaning, Power, and Resistance, Dazzelyn Baltazar Zapata, Springer Singapore, 2018
  28. ↑ Contemporary Radical Film Culture Networks, Organisations and Activists,Taylor & Francis, 2020
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