Winner of Best Documentary at the Georgia Documentary Film Festival and of Best International Film at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival, “Badlaav Republic” tells the story of Chhoti si Asha (A Small Hope).an NGO active in Khuda Lahora in Chandigarh, India that focuses on teaching women and children skills to face the multiple realities of the world, while educating both on the concept of freedom.
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The 15-minute short begins with an impressive introduction, in music video style, that shows the whole concept during India's Republic Day, where a sort of party is held on the terrace the NGO is based in, and where both the women that work and the children who get lessons there are present. Some of the children perform; one of them mocks politicians, a group of girls talk about freedom.
The narrative then changes to an interview with one of the workers in the NGO, Manju, who highlights how Chhoti si Asha changed her life, by teaching her skills that help her to make a decent living, finally, while also helping her skip the bonds of patriarchy, as her initially reluctant husband, eventually came to appreciate what the organization offers to both of them, and their children. Segments of the interview with her are juxtaposed with ones of her husband, Devraj, with the combination of their parts presenting their story in the most eloquent fashion, with Devraj's presence in the party talking volumes about his attitude on the whole thing.
Manahar Kumar was quite lucky to find and have Manju as his main subject, since her charisma is evident, with her smile and laughter filling the screen, even when she describes how, initially, her husband got violent on occasion when she would work until late, while her dancing “sessions” are probably the most entertaining aspect of the movie.
The approach Kumar took on the presentation of the short lingers somewhere between the music video and the TV commercial on occasion, with the editing and the music being the main mediums of this approach. The rather fast pace, however, helps in the analysis of the whole concept, while making the whole thing quite easy to watch, particularly since the quality of the visuals is also quite high. The text-on-screen sessions in the beginning are a bit annoying, particularly due to their placement in the very middle of the frame, but that is just a small detail, that does not fault the short particularly.
“Badlaav Republic” presents its main theme artfully and thoroughly, and through an approach that emerges as entertaining, while also succeeding in communicating its messages against patriarchy and in favor for freedom quite eloquently.
