On Wednesday, our wait for the golden statuette for Best International Feature Film was extended by a year as Malayalam film Jallikattu, India’s official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards, failed to make the cut. However, there was much to cheer about as Karishma Dev Dube’s Bittu earned a spot in the shortlist of the Short Film in Live Action category. The Student Oscar-winning film competed against 174 shorts across the globe, including Vidya Balan’s Natkhat and Sayani Gupta’s Shameless, to emerge among the top 10 chosen stories.  

Dube, who based her story on the 2013 food poisoning tragedy in Bihar, is “overwhelmed” by the recognition. “It’s every filmmaker’s dream to be recognised by the Academy. I remember there was a lot of media attention on the 2013 incident, and too many images available [online]. I [decided to] re-imagine the incident without going into how or why it happened. Ultimately, the film became about my boarding school experiences, my relationship with authority, and my friendships,” says the director, a recipient of the Dean’s Fellowship in New York University.

The short film is the maiden venture of Indian Women Rising (IWR), the collective founded by Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga, Tahira Kashyap Khurrana and Ruchikaa Kapoor. When mid-day reached out to them, the presenters said, “Firsts are always special, and Bittu holds a unique place in our endeavour. We are proud to represent India at the awards with a film that is so deeply rooted in our homeland.”

Elated as they are, the presenters are aware that they have crossed only the first hurdle. The second round of voting, which will determine the final five nominations, will begin on March 5. Knowing that lobbying plays a big role in a film’s graduation to the final shortlist, they are in the process of charting out an aggressive marketing plan. “We had a robust strategy to compete with 174 movies across the globe. The film’s festival runs were an added advantage, along with the support from NYU. Going forward, we will continue to focus on dedicated outreach towards the Academy voters.”

In the past few years, there has been a much-needed discussion about on-screen representation of women in Indian cinema. Unfortunately, there has been little focus on those behind the camera. Now, two years after Malayalam cinema witnessed the formation of Women in Cinema Collective, it is time for Bollywood to effect change. 

Producers Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurrana have joined forces to form Indian Women Rising (IWR), a collective that will discover, nurture and put the spotlight on female storytellers across the country.

Tracing its origin, Monga says, “Less than five per cent of directors in India are female. It’s time we change these statistics. We intend to use our combined resources to amplify independent women creators.”

While making a movie is the first step of the journey, IWR will step in during the second phase — when the project requires marketing and distribution support. It will provide resources to determine the film’s positioning, market it aggressively to catch the attention of mainstream media around the world, and eventually find the right buyers. While any filmmaker in or outside of India is eligible to apply, the association presently is seeking only finished films — be it a short, documentary or feature film. 

Kashyap, in charge of zeroing in on the movies that they will back, says the move will translate into more nuanced depiction of female characters on screen. “We are often stereotyped — we are either revolutionaries, or tragedy-stricken damsels. Our various shades will surface if we have more women working not only in front of the camera, but also behind it. This [venture] intends to disrupt the boxed notions about [our tribe].” Kapoor adds, “When Guneet and Tahira shared the idea of launching the collective, I instantly said yes. Women can create wonders when given the right opportunity and support. We hope IWR will encourage more female directors to come forward with their work.”