By Shevlin Sebastian
In her seven-minute film, ‘Listen To Her’, actor Nandita
Das sits in front of her laptop at the dining table of a Mumbai apartment.
There are large, airy windows, elegant furniture, a painting on the wall, and a
plant growing in a pot at the corner of the living room. As she is having a
Zoom conversation with her office colleagues, her son, played by actual son
Vihaan, says, “Mama, do you know an octopus has three hearts, and even if you
cut off its head, it can still live for one more hour.”
Nandita replies with “God, that’s so cool!” Then she
returns to her Zoom conversation. But just then a sound comes from the bedroom,
where her husband is watching a film in loud volume on the laptop. So, she
grimaces, takes earphones from a small box placed on a cabinet and gives it to
him. He
says, “Sorry, was it too loud?”
She says yes, and comes back. The pressure cooker goes off
in the kitchen, so she goes to switch it off. Just then a call comes on her
mobile. A woman calls and asks whether it is an NGO. Nandita says no, and cuts
the call. The woman calls again for help and in the background, a man has come
home. It seems the woman is in the washroom and he bangs on the door and tells
her to come out. In her panic, she forgets to switch off the mobile phone. When
she opens the door, the man slaps her, she cries out and there is a child
wailing in the background.
As she listens to all this, Nandita has a look of anguish
about her. She calls the police but they sound bored and indifferent. The story
rolls on...
Asked about the trigger for the film, Nandita says she saw
a news item which stated that the National Commission for
Women had recorded more than a two-fold increase in the number of cases of
gender-based violence during the lockdown. She realised it was ironic that the
tag for the coronavirus pandemic is ‘Stay home, stay safe’. “I call this the
‘Shadow Pandemic’,” she says. Later, Nandita came across many cases of domestic
violence, during the pandemic, across all classes.
Adds Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Representative, UN Women India:
“Many women have dreaded the four walls of the home, a private chamber that
reminds them of physical, emotional and psychological abuse. This film speaks
about ending the violence against women and girls.”
Before making the film, which has been supported by UNESCO,
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), UNICEF, UN Women and the South Asia
Foundation (Madanjeet Singh Foundation), Nandita had taken part in an online
campaign to break the silence around it.
There are two threads in the film: one is of overworked
women and the second is about domestic violence which takes place in many
households.
As to whether women are overburdened, Nandita says, “In our
country, overburdening of work is not seen as an abuse. But yes, women get
exhausted because they work relentlessly for their family and also do a job. No
one talks about their fatigue. That’s because we live in a patriarchal
society.”
She feels that for things to change, women have to speak
up. “But in India, 53% of the women believe their husbands are justified in
beating them,” says Nandita. “While for the other 47%, it might move the
needle. I hope by watching the film, a few women will get up the courage to
talk about their hellish experiences. Society cannot thrive if half the
population lives in fear of being abused.”
Eric Falt, Director and Representative, UNESCO New Delhi.
agrees. “There has to be a redefinition of masculinity, where men share
responsibilities with women in dignity, respect and non-violence,” he says.
Expectedly, the film has struck a chord. On YouTube viewer
Dr. Moushumi Gangopadhyay says, “I know how it feels like to be there. Domestic
violence can cause havoc in a person’s life.”
Yolanda from Surinam says, “I literally had tears in my
eyes. It's not easy standing up for yourself if you have seen your grandmother
and mother in that situation your whole life. There are a lot of women who are
scared like hell. I've seen it. No matter how hard you try to help them, they
are too scared to take it.”
Adds Nirupama Kishore, “Made the man I was watching it
with, so uncomfortable! They know what they are guilty of!”
(Published in Kochi Post)
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