It was a chance encounter with the Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley at the Dharamsala International Film Festival that landed Nishtha Jain an opportunity to showcase her films here in Sydney.
“I invited Nashen to watch Farming the Revolution at the festival — he loved it, along with a very emotional audience,” Jain recounts. “He later watched all my films and expressed interest in showcasing my last three — an absolute honour.”
Though Nishtha has earned critical acclaim and numerous awards for her socially conscious documentaries such as Gulabi Gang (2012) and 2The Golden Thread (2022), it’s her latest film Farming The Revolution (2023) that’s getting the attention.
The award-winning documentary captures the 13-month protest by 12 million Indian farmers – one of the largest and longest mass protests in India. They were protesting against the government’s new farm laws which they said would benefit big corporations at the expense of ordinary people. Not allowed to enter Delhi, they were forced to camp outside the capital.
Nishtha was in the US when the protests started amidst the COVID lockdown. Intrigued by the continuing masses joining the protests, she flew back home.
“We stayed in Delhi for 13 months and filmed for 135 days. What we witnessed was unprecedented. While the protest was born out of anger toward unjust laws, that anger never overshadowed the community’s dignity or peaceful conduct. The idea that farmers, already facing severe hardship, chose to feed everyone — including protestors, locals, and even the police — was symbolic of how they are feeding us.”
“Despite facing harsh weather and political tension, the protestors — primarily from Punjab and Haryana — demonstrated strength, unity, dignity, and mutual care. This was not a violent group, even though the government and the media were trying to show them as terrorists or troublemakers.”
To cover a protest that spanned over a year must have come with its own challenges.
“The biggest challenge we faced was covering the large extent of the protests with minimum resources. The protests and demonstrations were taking place all across northerm India. With no funding, limited resources and a small team, we had to choose specific characters and stories to focus on. We prioritised individuals who resonated with the movement and with the camera.”
The documentary also highlights the crucial role women played in the movement and how they were encouraged to participate.
“This was the largest participation of women in any Indian movement. On March 8 (International Women’s Day) some 100,000 women gathered at the protest site – reportedly the largest such gathering in India. Unfortunately these scenes weren’t included in the documentary.”
Nishtha Jain has also been invited to participate in the panel of Independent Filmmaking in India. The initiative came out of Sydney Film Festival’s partnership with Dharamshala International Film Festival to explore how Indian filmmakers navigate funding, censorship, and audience reach outside the mainstream.
“Independent filmmaking offers me a unique space of honest storytelling and authenticity, that commercial cinema often restricts. I have consciously chosen to remain outside the mainstream film industry to ensure my voice isn’t compromised. Despite the financial and systemic challenges, I have prioritised my creative freedom over commercial success.”
Gulabi Gang, her most acclaimed film, offers a powerful, unflinching portrait of a grassroots women’s movement in rural Uttar Pradesh. It follows the pink-sari-clad activists as they confront gender violence, caste oppression, and systemic injustice. They went on to become a national phenomenon, inspiring a Bollywood film.
In The Golden Thread, Jain turned her gaze to the fast-disappearing world of Bengal’s jute mills — once the pride of industrial India. The film explores the lives of the workers, the fading glory of the mills, and the intricate relationship between labour, industry, and history.
Her first film, City of Photos (2004), explored the world of neighbourhood photo studios in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
In Lakshmi and Me (2007), Jain delved into the life of her domestic worker, examining the complexities of class and gender dynamics.
Jain’s body of work is proof that documentaries play a crucial role in capturing and preserving the stories of our time. By chronicling real events, voices, and lived experiences, they offer audiences not just information, but a deeper understanding of the world around them. At their best, documentaries serve as lasting records – illuminating untold histories, amplifying marginalised perspectives, and providing invaluable context to current events.
As well, in an era of fast-moving news cycles, a thoughtfully crafted documentary can stand as an enduring testament to the moments and movements that shape our collective memory.
“There is a misconception also that documentaries are not entertaining,” Nishtha Jain laments. “Documentaries can be just as engaging and emotive as commercial films, combining storytelling with social depth in a compelling way. My films are immersive and realistic, where viewers can absorb the atmosphere and draw their own conclusions. Thanks to the festival, I’m bringing the story of India’s common man to Sydney.”
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