A file picture of Sneha and Suman being felicitated after the film won an Oscar

Sandeep Rai (THE TIMES OF INDIA; June 2, 2019)

Kathikeda to Delhi is a 120-km journey which not many from the rough village in the heart of western UP make. In February this year, two women from there flew to Los Angeles, the place that cradles Hollywood—the heart of America’s glamour world.

Sneha and Suman had just starred in ‘Period. End of Sentence’ which won an Oscar and they thought it was the beginning of a fairy tale.

The documentary was filmed on the sanitary pad-making unit in Kathikeda and spoke of the taboo associated with menstruation in rural India.

Set up in 2017, the “factory” had begun with negative comments from villagers. Some made fun of the people who worked there while others said the work was “dirty”.

But the Oscar changed all that. Soon after news of the recognition broke, men and women from neighbouring towns and villages trooped into Kathikeda, congratulating those that made the anonymous village famous around the world. That continued for days.

If the two women, who are relatives, at the centre of the story are to be believed, the Oscar has changed their lives yet again. They told TOI on Saturday that they are in deep financial crisis and that they have lost their jobs at ‘Fly’, where the pads that are sold for Rs 20 per packet are made.

“My husband works as temporary guard at a local bank’s ATM facility and is unable to meet monthly expenses of the family,” 28-year-old Suman said.

Sneha, 22, who in the film talks passionately about her desire to become a cop, added that she will have to leave the institute where she’s taking coaching classes that will equip her to join the Delhi Police one day. “There’s no money now,” she said.

Each woman at the unit is paid Rs 2,500, which was Rs 2,000 till February and was increased after the Oscar nod. ‘Fly’ was set up after funds were raised by English teacher Melissa Berton and 10 girl students from a school in Los Angeles to donate a padmaking machine in collaboration with NGOs Girls Learn International and Action India.

According to the two, ‘Fly’ asked them to leave because they refused to hand over the money — ₹1 lakh each — that former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav had rewarded for their achievement. Another ₹50,000 each had come from the state’s governor Ram Naik. “The NGO that runs the unit says that because the film revolved around its facility and initiatives, the money belongs to them,” said Suman.

Devender Kumar, project manager for Action India, Hapur, refuted the charges. “The reality is something else,” he said. “After returning (from the Oscars), they got a grand welcome and were so engrossed with the festivities that they began neglecting work.” He added, “Suman and Sneha accepted the money and were hence asked to deposit it for the cause that made them so famous. Ours is a small unit of six people. When two don’t work, it hurts business. Despite repeated meetings with them, they showed no inclination to make amends.”