CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES
SYNOPSES OF VIDEO PRODUCTIONS
Order Form and Price List | Synopses
Health and Disability
From the Diary of a Genetic Counsellor30 mins, English, 1991, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
The programme takes up two cases of Down's syndrome, with different genetic profiles (Trisomy 21 and Translocation 14- 21) and traces the counselling process involved in each case. The aim is to highlight the counselling strategies that could be adopted to help clients to come to terms and deal with the genetic disorder. This programme would be of use to medical practitioners as well as other professionals and paraprofessionals involved in work with the mentally challenged.
PrernaSlide-sound on video, 30 mins, English and Marathi versions, 1991, Directed by Neelam Kshirsagar
This programme presents a profile of the health worker, who, in the course of her regular community visits, helps in the detection of mental disability. The slide show traces the process of genetic counseling, through case studies of Down's syndrome. It stresses the importance of early intervention and rehabilitation. The aim is to present, for the health worker and the lay-person, the counselling process, with specific reference to Down's syndrome.
Pramila and Parvati35 mins, English, 1993, Directed by Shilpa Ranade
The video explores, in depth, the perceptions of two visually challenged women, who speak of their experience of childhood, getting an education, finding employment, marriage and child rearing. In a candid account, the friends discuss the trials they face everyday in meeting the challenge of parenting their sighted children. Their children's perception of visual disability and their aspirations for the future are also presented.
Environment
Magra Mewar Vikas SansthaPart I & II, 68 mins., English, 1991, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
MMVS, based in Ajmer and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan, is a co-ordinating voluntary agency of village committees that have taken up sustainable development of their common property resources based on the principles of contributory voluntary labour and equitable distribution of produce. The video evaluates these efforts in the context of the on-going ecological degradation of the Central Aravallis and governmental initiatives to remedy the situation.
One Hundred Years of Drought21 mins., English, Hindi and Marathi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
The video examines the causes of recurrent drought in Maharashtra , attempting to demonstrate the extent to which drought is a socially created phenomenon, a fall out of ecologically unsound policies and practices, both at micro and macro levels. It includes a brief review of the impact of colonial role and famine policy, as well as the post- independence path of development, premised on the growth of heavy industry, large dams and modernisation of agriculture. This has resulted in deforestation, soil erosion and depletion of ground water reserves, calling for alternative appproaches involving people's participation in integrated watershed management, based on the principles of sustainable development, self-reliance and equity.
Janaranya: Joint Forest Management in Uttara Kannada54 mins., English and Kannada versions, 1999, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Uttara Kannada in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka is one of the most densely forested districts in India . The film examines State interventions such as the Joint Forest Planning and Management against the backdrop of livelihood and survival issues of forest dependent communities. It is estimated that development projects in the district have displaced one out of every ten inhabitants and endanger a fragile and versatile ecosystem. Any attempt towards participatory management of forest resources needs to address these issues.
Jungle Tales: Surviving Development in Uttara Kannada52 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1999, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Uttara Kannada in Karnataka is one of the most densely forested districts in India. Development projects in the district have displaced one out of every ten inhabitants. The film examines livelihood and survival issues of forest dependent communities against the backdrop of this destruction of a fragile and versatile ecosystem in the Western Ghats region, and State interventions towards Joint Forest Management, funded by multi-lateral aid agencies.
Gender Issues
Lage Jiva Ghar Ghar: A Document on Women and Shelter44 mins., English and Marathi versions,1990, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar, Simantini Dhuru and Anjali Monteiro
The programme traces the differential socialisation processes that girl children internalise, to focus on women's limited rights to property. It goes on to discuss the alternatives available to women in distress, such as working women's hostels and shelter homes, emphasising the need to search for more appropriate systems of support.
Sudha Police Station Gayi Thi: On the Demystification of Police Procedures for Women16 mins.,Hindi, 1992, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Sudha, a woman facing domestic violence, approaches a police station for help. Her experience there leaves her wondering whether the police can be of any help in such situations. She meets Anita, an activist, who familiarises her with the basic procedures and police personnel involved in registering cognisable and non-cognisable complaints. In the process, Sudha begins to appreciate the possibilities and limitations of police intervention.
Odhni: A Collective Exploration Of Ourselves, Our Bodies23 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Based on a workshop with a group of women on the theme of self-image and sexuality, this video expresses women's perceptions of the relationships of power that impinge on women's bodies and their selves. Through a process of sharing and exploration, the group attempts a critique of the dominant modes of power that are immediate to their lives.
Breaking the Barriers60 mins, English, 1999, Directed by Sushma Narain
Domestic violence is one of the gravest and the most pervasive of human right violations. Yet, there is very little by way of response from the community or the state. For this crime is looked upon as a personal matter, not withstanding the fact that for large number of women this personal matter translates into a life along “adjustment” with torture, both mental and physical. For many, this adjustments end only with the loss of their lives. There have been attempts to mainstream the issue pf domestic violence both by the State and the civil society. This film looks at some of these initiatives of the community and the State aimed at breaking the barriers that divide lives into personal and public.
Indigenous People
The Fifth SchedulePart I & II, 44 mins, English and Telugu versions, 1988, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Shaibani Azam
Set in the Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, it highlights non-tribal intrusions into the tribal habitat resulting in large-scale alienation of tribal land, deforestation and ecological degradation. Against this backdrop, the programme evaluates the existing initiatives for development, both governmental and voluntary.
Tanda: A Document on the Denotified Tribes in MaharashtraPart I and II, 60 mins, English and Marathi versions, 1988, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar
The first part looks at colonial history to examine the process by which many disparate tribes were labelled as `criminal'. The second part establishes, through case studies, that even after independence the status of these tribes has not substantially changed.
Kahankar : Ahankar (Story Maker : Story Taker)38 Mins., English and Marathi versions, 1995, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
This is an attempt at bringing together a selection of the stories and paintings of the Warlis, and some of the writings about `them'. To the Warlis, a community of Adivasis (indigenous peoples), who live close to Bombay , these stories represent their `history', their world-view. All the outsiders, the Portuguese, the Marathas, the British, the `native' settlers... they all tried obliterating this history and wisdom. The work of the outsiders who wrote about `the Warli' represents this process of creating new mythologies. By bringing together these disparate discourses, this video aspires to critique these mythologies... To read between the lines, as the stories themselves do.
Media Education
The Plot Thickens...14 mins.,English and Hindi versions, 1993, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
This series of short videos is dedicated to the critical spirit in all of us. Whether it is a questioning of the notion of an objective reality (in `Dialogue') and an instrumental language (in `Table, table and ...) or an appreciation of how the media reproduce dominant relations of power in our culture, the attempt is to facilitate a rethinking of our relationship to the world around us. `Ideological Baggage' explores the construction of gender in a television commercial while `Packaged Desire' examines the modus operandi of advertising. `The Phantom Country', `The Myth of Columbus' and `A Taste of Fascism' deal with various aspects of racism in the media.
Identity: The Construction of Selfhood20 mins., English and Hindi versions, 1994, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Questioning the notion of the self as a pre-given, primordial and purposive entity, this video explores the gamut of modes in which identities are produced, circulated and consumed within our culture. Identity is both difference and relationship; identity is enmeshed in relations of power, be they of gender, race or religion. Traversing a multi-cultural terrain inhabited by Paul Klee and the Indo-Anglian poet A.K. Ramanujan, by popular commercials and the writings of riot-affected children, Michel Foucault and Sant Kabir, the medieval Sufi poet, the video is an invitation to examine anew our praxis of identity as an eternally negotiated site of change and resistance.
Community Participation
Punarvasan: A Document on Reconstruction in Post-earthquake MarathwadaParts I & II, 58 mins., English, 1995, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
This video, shot during the period between October 1993 and December 1994, critically examines various aspects of the reconstruction programme in the Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra , following the earthquake of September 30, 1993. Part I traces the first stage of the reconstruction programme, where donor-sponsored housing relocation schemes were undertaken. The issues explored include the validity of the decision to relocate 52 villages, the lay-out and design of the settlements and houses and the building technologies adopted. It concludes with a case study of the village Talani. The second part looks at the notion of peoples' participation in the reconstruction programme. It presents various experiments involving the use of low-cost indigenous materials, local participation in settlement design, training of local artisans, demonstration of retrofitting techniques, information-education campaigns and so on.
Water to the People: Towards Community Participation in Rural Drinking Water Schemes34mins., English and Marathi versions, 1998, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
This video is a case study of the drinking water schemes in the districts of Jalgaon and Nashik in Northern Maharashtra . It documents the processes and structures which have enabled the institutionalisation of community centred strategies, facilitated at various levels, by the Women's Studies Unit of TISS, Community Participation Consultant to the project. These include aspects such as training of government functionaries, formation of village water committees and the mechanisms for sustainable local participation.
Reconstructing Communities52 mins, Part I &II, English, 2002, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
On September 30, 1993, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale devastated 67 villages in the Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra , India . The death toll exceeded 8000 and over 16,000 were injured.
This video critically explores the possibilities and limitations of community participation, in the 52 villages that were relocated, under the aegis of the Maharashtra Earthquake Emergency Rehabilitation Programme (MEERP). This World Bank funded project, implemented between 1993 and 1998, focused on housing, infrastructure, social, economic and community rehabilitation and the preparation of a Disaster Management Plan. It had community participation as a key modality. Tata Institute of Social Sciences was the community participation consultant, for the villages to be relocated. Through case studies of selected villages, the video examines the processes and dynamics of community participation in a pre-determined, target-driven project, for post-disaster rehabilitation.
Other Issues
Shared FateSlide-sound on video, 30 mins, English, 1984, Directed by Nandan Kudhyadi and Anjali Monteiro
Through a fictionalized case study, this slide-sound presentation traces the entire process of adoption, with special emphasis on the role of the social worker. Issues discussed include the legal framework for adoption, adoption procedures, counseling the adoptive parents, follow-up after adoption and the importance of telling the child that she/he is adopted.
YCP 199743 Mins., English,1997, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Built between 1865 and 1876, Yerwada Central Prison (YCP), Pune, is one of the oldest prisons in India , with over 2500 inmates. In this video, six poets and artistes of the YCP share their work, their lives...
Through their poems and musings, the film explores the modes in which they creatively cope with the pain and stigma of incarceration, in the process questioning their selfhood and the socially constructed divides between ‘us' and ‘them', between the ‘normal' and the ‘deviant'.
Saacha (The Loom)49 Mins, English and Marathi versions, 2001, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Saacha is about a poet, a painter and a city. The poet is Narayan Surve, and the painter Sudhir Patwardhan. The city is the city of Mumbai (a.k.a. Bombay ), the birth place of the Indian textile industry and the industrial working class. Both the protagonists have been a part of the left cultural movement in the city. Weaving together poetry and paintings with accounts of the artists and memories of the city, the film explores the modes and politics of representation, the relevance of art in the contemporary social milieu, the decline of the urban working class in an age of structural adjustment, the dilemmas of the left and the trade union movement and the changing face of a huge metropolis.
Towards a People-centred Tomorrow28 mins, English, 2003, Directed by B. Manjula
Traces the history and present contribution of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
a pioneering institution for social work education in South Asia . From its inception in 1936, the Institute has designed its programmes of training, research and field action to meet the emerging needs of the country with a focus on relevant and sustainable development goals.
Naata (The Bond)45 mins., English and Hindi versions, 2003, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
Naata is about Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, two activists and friends, who have been involved in conflict resolution, working with neighbourhood peace committees in Dharavi, reputedly, the largest ‘slum' in Asia. This film explores their work, which has included the collective production and use of visual media for ethnic amity.
Naata is also about us; among other things, it is an attempt to reflect on how we relate to spaces of the other, spaces like Dharavi.
It is, above all, about Mumbai, the city that encompasses Bhau, Waqar and us.
Hum Sab40 mins, English and Hindi, 2003, Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro
An edited version of Naata (synopsis above), which focuses on the story of Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, leaving out the bits where the filmmakers reflect on their own experiences, related to ethnic amity and identity.
