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Of aurat. By mahila
Updated On: 20 February, 2022 09:27 PM IST | Mumbai | Jane Borges
The female crew behind a feature docu shot inside the ladies compartments of the Mumbai local that premiered at the Berlinale discuss how shared empathy played out on screen
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Ladies Only, which had its European Premiere at the 72nd Berlinale Filmfestspiele this week, tells the stories of women who travel in the ladies compartment of Mumbai’s local trains. Pic Courtesy/Milann Tress John
In the ladies compartment of the Mumbai local, which has been the mode of commute for millions of women in the city, there’s always unshowy resplendence. Not just on days when it’s packed and the vivid shades of sarees, kurtis, tees and ripped jeans, paint its mellow interiors. But also when it’s uncrowded—the sounds of floating chatter and gossip, or a heated exchange, sometimes over the phone or with a fellow commuter, permeate through an already rattling coach. There’s never really a dull day here.
Rebana Liz John’s new feature-length documentary Ladies Only, which had its European Premiere at the 72nd Berlinale Filmfestspiele this week, ironically explores this colourful cosmos in black and white. Shot by an-all women’s crew—Milann Tress John (cinematographer), and Navya Sah and Ankita Purkayastha (sound recordists)—between April and May 2019, the observational docu has Rebana seek her interview subjects from amidst this crowd. The questions, sometimes pointed, but often subtle—women are asked about what makes them angry—leads to answers that help create an unusual and intimate portrait of travellers, cutting across age and class, who otherwise live a life of obscurity.
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