Nakul Singh Sawhney

Last updated

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

Nakul Singh Sawhney is an Indian independent 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

His upcoming film series, 'A Million Churnings' looks at the 2020-2021 farmers' protest, the largest and the longest protest in modern world history.

He is a commentator on Indian politics and has appeared on The Quint, The Mojo Story, NDTV, The Wire and written for The New Indian Express, DailyO, Caravan and others.

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. [27] This film and media collective trains local people from marginalised communities in film technologies. [28] 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. [29] 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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anand Patwardhan</span> Indian film director (born 1950)

Anand Patwardhan is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development. Notable films include Bombay: Our City (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), Reason (2018), and The World is Family (2023), which have won national and international awards.

Kairana is a city and a municipal board in Shamli district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) from Shamli city.

Sahni, Sawhney, Sahani, or Sahney is a Punjabi Khatri surname found among the Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab, India. It is also used by people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and other parts of Central India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashok Vajpeyi</span> Indian Hindi-language poet, essayist and literary-cultural critic

Ashok Vajpeyi is an Indian Hindi-language poet, essayist, literary-cultural critic, apart from being a noted cultural and arts administrator, and a former civil servant. He was chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi India's National Academy of Arts, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, 2008–2011. He has published over 23 books of poetry, criticism and art, and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award given by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, in 1994 for his poetry collection, Kahin Nahin Wahin. His notable poetry collections include, Shaher Ab Bhi Sambhavana Hai (1966), Tatpurush (1986), Bahuri Akela (1992), Ibarat Se Giri Matrayen, Ummeed ka Doosra Naam (2004) and Vivaksha (2006), besides this he has also published works on literary and art criticism: Filhal, Kuchh Poorvagrah, Samay se Bahar, Kavita ka Galp and Sidhiyan Shuru ho Gayi Hain. He is generally seen as part of the old Delhi-centric literary-cultural establishment consisting of bureaucrat-poets and academicians like Sitakanta Mahapatra, Keki Daruwalla, J.P.Das, Gopi Chand Narang, Indra Nath Choudhari and K.Satchidanandan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Indian Film Festival</span> Indian Film festival in New York

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in New York City, and screens films relating to India, the Indian Diaspora, and the work of Indian filmmakers. The festival began in November 2001 and was founded by Aroon Shivdasani and the Indo-American Arts Council. About 40 films are screened, including features films, shorts, documentaries, and animated films.

Gogu Shyamala is a Telugu-language writer and women's activist and a prominent Dalit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satyapal Dang</span> Indian politician

Satyapal Dang (1920–2013) was an Indian independence activist, writer and later-day politician from Punjab. He was a legislator of Punjab State Legislative Assembly, representing the Communist Party of India for four terms and a Minister of Food and Civil Supplies in the United Front ministry led by Justice Gurnam Singh. He was also involved in trade union movement in India, aligning with the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1998, for his contributions to society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Muzaffarnagar riots</span> Hindu –Muslim clashes in Uttar Pradesh, India

The clashes between the Jat and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India. By date 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.

Hukum Singh was an Indian politician who served as the Member of Parliament from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. He was a member of the Panel of Chairpersons of the 16th Lok Sabha, and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources.

Neha Dixit is an Indian freelance journalist covering politics, gender and social justice. She has been awarded over a dozen awards including the Chameli Devi Jain Award (2016) as well as CPJ International Press Freedom Award (2019).

India's Daughter is a documentary film directed by Leslee Udwin and is part of the BBC's ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 22-year-old Jyoti Singh, aliased "Nirbhaya", who was a physiotherapy student. The documentary explores the events of the night of 16 December 2012, the protests which were sparked both nationally and internationally as a result of the assault, and the lives of the men before they committed the attack. The film is told through the use of reconstructed footage and interviews with those involved in the case, including the defence lawyers, psychiatrists, and one of the rapists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohith Vemula</span> Indian doctoral student (1989–2016)

Rohith Chakravarthi Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad. His death by suicide on 17 January 2016 sparked widespread protests on various university campuses in India.

<i>The Unbearable Being of Lightness</i> 2016 Indian film

The Unbearable Being of Lightness is a 45-minute documentary film made in 2016 and directed by Ramchandra PN. The documentary documents a workshop that the filmmaker had conducted for a group of students at the University of Hyderabad, immediately after the student protests on the issue of the suicide of Rohith Vemula had ended at the university.

The Death of Merit is a four-part documentary series. The first three parts were created by the Insight Foundation, a Dalit-Adivasi student group. The fourth was posted by Round Table India. The whole series has been edited by Gurinder Azad and team. The documentary series focuses on caste-based discrimination in the Indian higher education system and the suicides of Dalit students in Indian campuses. The Wire, states that the "Death of Merit, remains one of the most crucial documentations of forms of discrimination faced by Bahujan students in university spaces."

Radhika Vemula is an Indian activist for Dalit rights and against caste based discrimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shivendra Singh Dungarpur</span>

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is an Indian filmmaker, producer, film archivist and restorer. He is best known for his films Celluloid Man, The Immortals and CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel. He has also directed several award-winning commercials and public service campaigns under the banner of Dungarpur Films.

Chalchitra Abhiyaan is a film and media collective based in Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It covers five districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Saharanpur.

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. ↑ https://www.sbcltr.in/how-chalchitra-abhiyaan-gives-you-a-glimpse-into-real-india/
  28. ↑ Communicating for Social Change Meaning, Power, and Resistance, Dazzelyn Baltazar Zapata, Springer Singapore, 2018
  29. ↑ Contemporary Radical Film Culture Networks, Organisations and Activists, Taylor & Francis, 2020
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.