Filmmaker Vibha Bakshi’s documentary Daughters of Mother India highlights the radical changes that are being made in the police department, government, judiciary and community groups after the Nirbhaya gangrape case. She shares details with Divya Kaushik
She doesn’t mean to sound preachy. She doesn’t want to startle you with something new. All she is doing is presenting reality as it is, in a way that will surely leave a fragment of thought in your mind about how are we raising our girls and what values are we giving to our sons when it comes to respecting women. like every other woman in this country, Vibha Bakshi, too, was disturbed after the Nirbhaya gangrape and the mass movement of protests that followed that. That was the beginning of sorts for her. She started to think of many such cases that don’t even come to light and pondered how should other social issues like gender bias in our country, should be addressed to create awareness. Making a documentary film came was the obvious choice since Vibha has been making films since long. So she started work on her documentary, Daughters of Mother India, which will be screened in Mumbai on December 16.
“The candle light vigils and protests that happened in Delhi triggered the mass movement. I was surprised to see how people came together to fight for Nirbhaya. That was the beginning of the change. The biggest change was that people were coming out of their homes and participating in the movement,” says Vibha. The documentary has opinions from experts like Additional Solicitor General Supreme Court, Indira Jaising, former Justice leile Seth, Commissioner of Police Delhi, Neeraj Kumar and Kiran Bedi. The film also highlights the radical changes being made in the police department, government, judiciary and community groups after the Nirbhaya case. It is for the first time ever in the history of police force that cameras were allowed inside the Delhi Police control and command room. “I wanted to bring out the true picture and I noticed some positive changes. We cannot expect a massive change overnight. The biggest change that I have been noticing is that people have now started to understand that filing a report and bringing a case to light is important. When a seven-year-old girl tells her mother that she has been molested, her mother leaves everything to file a complaint against the culprit. She now understands that her daughter may have escaped the unfortunate but if she would let the man go now, he may target another girl tomorrow. like this mother, we should spread out a message that it is not a girl’s fault if she is molested,” says the filmmaker and adds that the aim of the project is community awareness.