Student filmmakers say: Change is the only constant

This season, change is the mantra for media students at Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai. What's On dropped in at an editing session of one of their documentaries, for a preview of what's to come

Main bhi director: (from left) Filmmakers Monica James (Beyond "I"), Radhika Iyengar, Kinjal Mehta (Mirror, Mirror on the Wall), Mallika Kulkarni (Beyond "I"), Nita D, Koyal Sen (I Can Make a Difference) and Kunjarani D'souza (Majhe Maher: A Haven of Hope)
Change is the theme: Quite inadvertently, "change" has become the theme of the exhibition. Whether it's an ad or a documentary, every project deals with an aspect of changing perspectives. Beyond 'I' is a docu that portrays two young change-makers, Ashok Rathod and Natasha Kewalramani, who have decided to "turn a passive desire for social change into action". Rathod, the "total rock star", has set up a football group that helps keep youngsters who work at the docks, away from drug abuse.

Kewalramani comes from a diametrically opposite background, and has launched I Vote, an initiative that gets young adults in Mumbai to exercise their franchise. The change-makers managed to inspire these young filmmakers enough for all of them to register for the upcoming General Elections. "The documentary changed our mindset; that change-makers are khadi-clad, jhola-toting revolutionaries. You don't have to fit into a stereotype to make a difference to someone's life. You just have to be yourself," says Monica James, co-director of the film.

Be inspired: The students are hoping Mumbai audiences get inspired by their work, enough to create a change in their own lives. The faculty also is looking forward to audiences taking away some fresh ideas from the projects. "The idea is not to critique society, but demonstrate that there are ways and means of making a change, which we hope the audiences will take up themselves," says Professor Jeroo Mulla, Head of Department, SCM.

At: The AV Room, Sophia Polytechnic, Sophia College, Bhulabhai Desai Road.
From: February 26 to March 1, 11.30 am to 7.30 pm.
Call: 23513157. Entry is free

Former anorexics make film on disorder they've beaten

Mirror Mirror on the Wall is a documentary that focuses on Anorexia Nervosa, a psychological eating disorder.

Having battled the illness themselves, SCM students Kinjal Mehta and Radhika Iyengar wanted to reach out to teenagers and help them accept their physical self, regardless of pressures from society and the media. But shooting the documentary wasn't easy. "There were times when we broke down, and things got emotional. It was difficult to continue shooting, because as directors you have to go on, but on the personal front, it was getting way too intrusive," says Kinjal.

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