Event Details

Documentary Film Screening

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Cinema Collective

The Reality Check film series promotes and encourages documentary filmmakers in India, whose work reflects life and culture in the country today in a provocative blend of creativity and integrity.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – A film by Anand Patwardhan

English, Hindi, Marathi

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the world is family”, is a universal idea that competes with the dominant, exclusivist Hindu notions of caste. Anand Patwardhan grew up in a milieu that questioned the latter. The family’s elders had fought for India’s independence but rarely spoken about it. ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’, words enshrined in India’s constitution, became subconsciously internalised. As his parents aged, Patwardhan began to film with whatever equipment was at hand. Soon birthdays and family gatherings gave way to oral history. Revisiting home movie footage a decade after his parents had passed was a revelation.

Today as self-confessed supremacists, whose ideology once inspired the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, rewrite India’s history, memories of the past have become more precious than mere personal nostalgia.

Production, Direction & Editing: Anand Patwardhan
Camera & Sound: Anand Patwardhan & Simantini Dhuru
Production Assistance: Simantini Dhuru & Mohosin Shaikh

The film screening will be followed by a discussion.

Admission on a first-come-first-served basis. NCPA Members will get preferential seating till 6.20 pm.