Brief: Conceive, plan and produce an interview-based program in 3 parts about the perceptions the Indian woman has of herself.
Concept of Ahalya
Ahalya explores the life and changing times of the Indian woman - her joys, her trials - problems and issues that concern her. Looking at life through the eyes of the contemporary woman as she stands on the threshold of a new dream to seek her own destiny within and without the four walls of her home, extending her vision beyond the doors of perception. Mother, wife, daughter, lover - yet more. Ahalya is about the woman who has gone beyond the confines of her gender. It is about the woman who through multi-faceted roles, through conflict and fulfilment, seeks and finds her own identity.
Ahalya is informal and friendly. It is the voice of the Indian woman. Neither pretentious nor contrived, Ahalya through tight close-ups of popular women provides role models without being patronising. It illuminates the Indian woman in the perspective of her historical, sociological, psychological and economic background.
The program is about life and living, dealt with starkly, with humour and with compassion. It is about contradictions that co-exist, unresolved conflicts, inexplicable questions. Ahalya zeroes in on the over-all development of individuals in their conscious and un-conscious search for fulfilment and meaning in life. This program aims to provide fresh insights as it explores the inner recesses of a woman's mind. The program makes no judgements. It seeks to understand what is happening to the woman in contemporary Indian society. It tries to give an image and a word to what has remained unsaid. Ahalya is the reality of being a woman....
Production
Women achievers who have played pivotal roles as social influencers in introspective interviews: actress, political activist and Rajya Sabha MP, Shabana Azmi; classical musician Kishori Amonkar; environmental activist Medha Patkar; TV actresses Renuka Shahane and Kitu Gidwani.
The male perspective of the Indian woman through thought-provoking interviews with ace lensman, Gautam Rajadhyaksha and writer Kiran Nagarkar.
Professional Speak : The changing times and the impact it has had on women and society. Interviews with sexologist Prakash Kothari; psychiatrist Dayal Mirchandani and counsellor Sushma Mehrotra.
Many voices: Interviews with a policewoman on the city beat, a lawyer who specializes in divorce, a banker who broke tradition by being the bread-earner while her husband is the home-maker, students of varied ages, several home-makers.
Images that remained
A myriad images of women: everyday images, some joyous, some poignant, each with a powerful message. Women in different aspects of life: Cooking with a pressure cooker letting off steam, grinding masalas by hand, making papad, a woman washing clothes beating it with a stick. Women commuting, working, teaching, laughing, crying, fighting, a woman consoling a child, playing with a child, a woman being teased on the road, women in a protest march, a woman with a handicapped child. A young girl street child, a woman solicitng, a pathetic old woman on the road. A group of young girls in a playground, college girls with books in their hands chatting and giggling, young lovers on Marine Drive, a young girl playing with her doll, a young bride, an old woman in a rocking chair, a disco scene, a model at work.
Result
A thought provoking program that showed the different faces of urban Indian women. Providing insights, resolving issues, raising as many questions as they answered. Honest, frank and real - without barriers. Heart felt moments, sharing experiences, remembering incidents, reliving a process of growth, of discovery, of reconciliation and of compromise.
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