A new film club on a terrace will open its doors to Mumbai’s cinephiles on International Women’s Day and screen a documentary that offers an assertive gaze on the marginalised communities of India
Sharma’s friends gather for a cricket match screening at her terrace
Do you feel the rage take over your body when you step out of the cinema hall, brimming with words of criticism and analysis, only to be interrupted and told, “It’s just a movie, ya!”? As much as this writer detests these words, we cannot deny that for some people, movies are a means of basic entertainment. But for those of us who mean business every time we watch a movie, Chat Chitra Talkies, Bandra’s new terrace film club, is here to lend an ear.
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The white wall on the terrace will serve as a screen
Founded by film editor Shubhika Sharma and creative producer Harshita Sabnis, the film club will host its first screening this Friday for International Women’s Day. “Shubhika and I are both filmmakers. We first met on a project for a Netflix documentary in 2019. We have been friends ever since and often watch movies together. She has this beautiful terrace attached to her flat in Bandra, which serves as a venue for the screenings,” Sabnis shares. The duo loves discussing movies and often calls over their friends from the industry to join them. “The terrace keeps undergoing change as per occasion.
The film club is designed to make the community feel comfortable and at home. Pics/Shadab Khan
Sometimes, it is ready to host a friend’s party, other times it hosts movie, football and cricket screenings,” Sharma laughs, adding that now the duo wants to make it a dedicated space for cinephiles to watch films and have discussions. The focus will be to bring movies created by women to the fore. “We aim to screen documentaries, short fiction and non-fiction films by independent filmmakers as well as Indian and Western classics,” the 28-year-old filmmakers share. Some movies lined up going forward include Against the Tide by Sarvnik Kaur, Parched by Leena Yadav, Hello Guyzzz by Samiksha Mathur, Begamon ka Bhopal by Rachita Gorowala and Goodbye, Hello by Omkar Pathak.
Jyoti Nisha
The idea, they explain, is to screen movies that are not easily available online and stir conversations. “We intend screening films with due permissions from directors or producers. We want to make such movies accessible to the general public, and not just the people from the industry. The intention of the initiative at this point is to build a community, and not go into making profits,” the duo reveals, adding that the name Chat Chitra Talkies originates from the idea of turning the terrace house into a “talkie”, where people come together to watch films. “We attempt to bring an intimate atmosphere in our set-up, where one could just feel at home and yet enjoy the experience of watching a film with a community.”
A still from Dr BR Ambedkar: Now & Then
The first documentary they will showcase on Friday is Dr BR Ambedkar: Now & Then by city-based writer, filmmaker and theorist Jyoti Nisha. “The feature-length documentary questions privilege and representation of caste, gender and media through a Bahujan Feminist Lens. Women’s day felt like the perfect opportunity to screen it,” Sabnis shares.
Harshita Sabnis and Shubhika Sharma
To this end, Nisha, who will be present for a post-movie discussion, adds, “We all talk about patriarchy — from the rich to the marginalised, women and men. But we forget to question where its roots are. This movie offers a spectatorship into how the marginalised communities and women are treated in the modern society, from the philosophy of arguments presented by Dr BR Ambedkar. It offers an assertive gaze, which is amiss in popular culture, compares the past and the present and documents the political situation in the country right from 2014.”
On: March 8, 7.30 pm onwards
At: Chat Chitra Talkies, Pali Hill, Bandra West (get complete address after registration).
Log on to: @chatchitratalkies (registration link in bio)
Cost: Rs 350
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