Savitri’s Sisters At Azadi Kooch

About the film

One year after the public flogging of Dalits at Una in Gujarat, a call was given for the ‘Azadi Kooch’ yatra (march). The yatra traveled through several towns and villages of Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of the state. The main demand being the handing over of land which was allocated to Dalits on paper but has been illegally occupied by people from dominant castes for several years. During the yatra, a whole range of other socio-political-economic issues were raised. The issue of gender justice being among the most prominent. Savitri’s Sisters at Azadi Kooch attempts to look at two emerging Dalit women leaders, Laxmiben and Madhuben in the yatra.

Director Biography

Nakul Singh Sawhney directed his first film in 2005, With a Little Help from my Friends, which won the award for the 2nd best film at the 60 Seconds to Fame film festival in Chennai. He then completed a course in TV direction at the FTII, Pune, during 2005-06. At the Film Institute, he directed Agaurav and Undecided that won awards for the 2nd Best Film and Best Director respectively at the Hyderabad International Film Festival. After completing his course, he made a feature length documentary Once upon a time in Chheharta on the history of the working class movement of Chheharta, Amritsar. In 2012, he finished directing the highly acclaimed film Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan on ‘honour’ crimes in Haryana.