Anupama Chandra

Movies

Ranj
Editor
Amanpreet, a young man from a village in Punjab, is forced to migrate to India’s capital city, New Delhi, for his livelihood. But he is not wired for city life. He yearns for everything he has left behind – his carefree days, his bride-to-be Geetu, and the familiarity of village life. Amanpreet’s co-workers at the automobile tools shop jump at every opportunity to humiliate him. His boss constantly threatens to fire him. When Amanpreet cracks under the pressure of a troubled work-life, the impending wedding, and his pennilessness, all hell breaks loose.
Big Time
Editor
As “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” dominates the pop charts, Maya writes in her diary everything that rocks her teenage world, from the assassination of Indira Gandhi and her parents’ divorce, to the latest pimple that made its appearance. But suddenly not much else seems to matter when a new girl arrives at school. A delightful and intimate exploration of youthful obsession, budding sexuality and what it means to be a teenager, which all too often sucks, big time.
The Other Song
Editor
Journeying across Varanasi, Lucknow, and Muzzafarpur in India, this documentary film traces the lost traditions and the culture of tawaifs (courtesans of North India), particularly through a song sung by Rasoolan Bai, "Lagat karejwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" and its lesser known, earlier version "Lagat jobanwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" (recorded in a 1935 Gramophone recording). Weaving the past with the present, the film spans between personal stories as it interacts with historical events, ultimately leading to the decline of a great art form.
The Books We Made
Director
The Film is inspired by the work of Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon, who co-founded the first feminist publishing house in India: Kali for Women. It looks back on thirty years in publishing and focusses on the feminist politics and friendships that make this survival possible.