It is rarely that a documentary
gets widespread theatrical release in India. But, The world before her is that rare exception. The film, made in
2012, was released in India this year and rightly received critical acclaim.
And why not? The film is a dispassionate account of two worlds existing in
India. No, they are not India and Bharat. Neither are they rural and urban. They
are the worlds of the fanatic and the modern. These two worlds are presented
through the profiling of basically two women.
Director: Nisha Pahuja
Film Clip
Prachi Trivedi represents the fanatic.
She is an animator at Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishat,
actively involved in poisoning the minds of young girls. Ruhi Singh represents
the modern. She is contesting the Miss India contest. It is interesting and
hilarious at the same time how these two women and their ambitions are
juxtaposed. For example, the final contest of Miss India event with all its
glamour, make-up and glitter is montaged with girls at the Durga Vahini camp
getting ready for the passing out ceremony and thereby getting ready to ‘defend
the country’, ‘defend Hinduism’, even if it means to ‘kill somebody’.
The credit goes to the film maker
(Nisha Pahuja) for not making any value judgements. She is happy just
presenting the images creatively before the audience who can gage for themselves
the hidden meanings behind these images. While Durga Vahini has given Prachi
certain amount of power and authority (she is happy that girls in the camp are
scared of her), the upbringing and the exposure to the modern world has helped
Ruhi become ‘somebody’ in life, even if she does not make the final cut in the
Miss India contest.
The documentary is indeed a
credible venture allowing the audience to get a glimpse of these two worlds
existing simultaneously. Not to forget, the smooth flow and excellent editing,
coupled with soothing background score and non-interfering camera work have
made the film both entertaining and educative.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
