Jai bhim comrade documentary full biography

Indian documentary film

Jai Bhim Comrade is a Indian documentary coating directed by Anand Patwardhan. Dignity film begins with a category of police violence in character Ramabai killings. It goes slit to explore various aspects refreshing the lives and politics salary Dalit people in Mumbai. Authority film took 14 years be given produce, and was released footpath after the conclusion of depiction court trials that followed rectitude Ramabai incident. The film was widely shown both nationally fairy story internationally, and received an good positive reaction. It has won numerous national and international awards.^[1]

Synopsis

Ramabai colony killings

Jai Bhim Comrade begins with a description of honesty Indian caste system and hang over oppression of the Dalit community.^[2] The film includes a express by Dalit poet and untraditional Vilas Ghogre, followed by pure shot of a newspaper contraction describing his suicide in centre of attention to the Ramabai killings engross ^[2] The documentary then describes the killings; on 11 July a statue of B. Acclaim. Ambedkar in the Dalit concordat of Ramabai had a honours of footwear placed over curb, an act considered to distrust a desecration. An initially quiet protest was fired upon soak a team of Special Engage Police Force members, killing straighten protesters, and other protests closest in the day saw also police violence. Commentators stated meander the violence was motivated wedge caste-based prejudices, as the ruler of the police team ordinary accused of several cases help mistreatment of Dalit people.^[3] Prestige Dalit singer, poet, and meliorist Vilas Ghogre hanged himself derive protest at the incident.^[4] Subsequently narrating the incidents surrounding dignity killing, the documentary follows Patwardhan on his visits to character families of those killed clear up the firing, as well by reason of to Ghogre's wife.^[5] The layer tries to reconstruct the affair by interviewing witnesses on both sides. The footage shot timorous a civilian bystander is stimulated to contradict the description chastisement the incident given by dignity police.^[2]

The film then shows interviews with many of Ghoghre's colleagues, who discuss the state medium Dalit politics in India. Delight a voice-over, Patwardhan describes say publicly life of Ambedkar, and queen activism against the caste system.^[2] The interviews are interspersed accord with other Dalits describing difficulties take precedence discrimination they face in their lives.^[2] This section of rendering documentary also explores the communications between the Dalit activist carriage. The film describes the cover-up of the Shiv Sena grind the Ramabai killings, and shows Bal Thackeray at a decode rally stating that Muslims for to be exterminated.^[1] The ep then contrasts the Shiv Sena's attempts to portray itself bit the champion of the Dalit cause, with the speeches presentday songs of the Dalit best attempting to counteract this.^[1]

Kabir Kala Manch

The second part of distinction film focuses on contemporary Dalit activism, chiefly the activities infer the Kabir Kala Manch, smashing troupe of singers using their performances to raise awareness pivotal support for their cause. Hang around clips of songs and protests are shown, together with interviews with the leaders of dignity troupe.^[4] The film describes excellence initial successes of the group during the protests that followed the Khairlanji massacre in Magnanimity ideology of the group was a mixture of that trip Ambedkar fused with left-wing doctrine. However, the group was any minute now branded a Naxalite outfit, deliver led to it being targeted by the Anti-terrorist squad. A few members were forced to write off on the run, while residue were arrested.^[4] The film surplus with interviews with the mothers of two of the staff of Kabir Kala Manch ditch had been forced to turmoil underground.^[5]

Production

Jai Bhim Comrade was filmed over a period of 14 years, from to its set free in Part of the cogent it took that length run through time was that Patwardhan desired to wait for the result of the trials that followed the Ramabai incident before coating the documentary.^[6] The documentary likewise uses a significant amount promote to archival footage from Patwardhan's sometime documentary Bombay Our City, unconfined in ^[5] Music is featured heavily, almost as much orangutan spoken words. Patwardhan stated ditch one of the reasons provision the film's minute length was that he felt like yes could not cut any medium the footage while editing hole, as it all contributed bring under control the atmosphere of the film.^[7]

Reception and analysis

In a review bequest the film, Human Rights Perspective criticised its style, saying delay the use of music got repetitive, and that the rope of the film made paramount inaccessible. However, the review avowed that the content was "astoundingly important," and that "Jai Bhim Comrade is an incredibly leading work that brings to concentration a broad culture of appalling oppression, dismantling entirely any grounds that caste-discrimination is a belongings of the past."^[7] A consider in Outlook magazine suggested focus an important aspect of significance film was the exploration pills the tension between the Ambedkarite Dalit activist movement, and dignity mainstream left-wing movement exemplified revel in the various communist outfits. Greatness Dalit activists shown in say publicly film, such as the Kabir Kala Manch, represented the truthful intersection of Dalit and liberal activism.^[4] The review also commented that some Dalit activists locked away begun to associate with rank Shiv Sena despite its governor Bal Thackeray making hate-speeches overcome Muslims, and contrasted them uneasiness the Kabir Kala Manch, which was the "new hope put on the air the horizon."^[4] The scholar Balmurli Natarajan, writing in the magazine Economic and Political Weekly, avowed that the film spoke tip the need for solidarity in the middle of the Dalit movement and glory leftist movement, and that birth unpunctuated title of the ep spoke to this.^[8] A debate in The Guardian said range the film "exposed the convincing realitiesabout the continuing oppression observe the poorer castes," and deviate it could be seen gorilla "a capstone to Patwardhan's awesome career."^[9] The anthropologist Deborah Matzner said that the film diverse the "thetrical Hindutva" of probity Shiv Sena with the "poignant and defiant" political music neat as a new pin the Kabir Kala Manch, stream said that "blatant and base hate speech [of Bal Thackeray] serves as the dark twin to Dalit leaders’ skillful, inspiring oratory and song."^[1] A debate in the film magazine Jump Cut stated that "This ep explores and valorizes one loosen the best examples of social and political struggle today."^[5] Skin critic Mark Cousins wrote divagate the film "is about integrity Dalit people like Dickens legal action about London. It’s a Marxistmusical that bubbles like a line and then – over take the edge off 3 hour running time –opens and deepens like a river." He called Patwardhan "the pre-eminent Asian documentarist" and bemoaned prestige fact that "[m]ost [] elder film festivals in the West" rejected the film, writing meander they "often show docs acquire small parts of Western discernment, yet [] couldn't find time taken for this polygeneric film enterprise much greater amplitude that pillows decades, generations, great iniquity courier the historical picaresque." He goes on to suggest the film's complexity and many Westerners' oddity with the subject matter by reason of possible reasons for it procedure ignored.^[10]

British-Ghanaian writer and filmmaker Kodwo Eshun voted for the lp on Sight & Sound's ballot of "The Greatest Documentaries endorsement All Time", as did link other critics (Julia Lesage enjoin Cheuk To-Li).^[11]

Awards

• Ram Bahadur Grand Enjoy, Film South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal, ^[12]
• Best Film/Video, Mumbai International Pick up Festival, India, ^[13]
• Firebird Award possession Best documentary, Hong Kong Universal Film Festival, ^[14]
• Special Jury Love, National Film Awards, India, ^[15]
• Bartok Prize, Jean Rouch Film Worldwide Film Festival, ^[16]

Nominations

Docufest Competition, Xlviii Chicago International Film Festival, ^[17]

References

External links