‘Women Of My Billion' Review: Documentary on gender violence will shake you

‘Women Of My Billion’ Review: Documentary on gender violence will shake you

Ask anyone, not just outside India but in the country itself, and a common perception is that India is not safe for women. But what can be done to change it, and can it at all be changed?

This was a question that rattled Shristi Bakshi. So she left her high-paying job, came to India and embarked on a journey to walk across the nation, from South to North, in order to find answers.  And she has one motto to keep her going — to achieve something that you have never thought of before, you have to do something that you have never done. And just like that, she begins her journey, where she meets countless women, mostly from the rural areas, and brings forward stories of oppression, violence, and how conditioning has stopped women from empathising with their own gender.

Watch the trailer of ‘Women Of My Billion’ here:

What is even more unsettling is the fact that three women, who do not hail from rural areas, have faced violence that will leave you uncomfortable as they recall it on camera. They are successful, accomplished women but with their own battle scars. While one of them had to endure severe domestic violence and marital rape, with the police not coming to her help and the system telling her that what she endured was no big deal, another is an acid-attack survivor. The third woman is a widow who endured oppression in her second marriage but came out of it and stood on her own, thanks to her education.Â

As Shristi embarks on her journey spanning over 240 days, treading 3800 km across the nation, she meets different people. Their stories will leave you deeply disturbed and shaken, to say the least. To just give you a perspective, she meets a mother of four daughters whose youngest daughter, who was not even a teenager, was raped by two men and burnt alive. This mother keeps harping on about how she did not have a son and had four daughters in the hope of a son. Does she not register how her daughter was murdered in the most gruesome way? Has it become something so common that people speak of it unbothered, without even the slightest tremor in their voice? These thoughts will linger in your mind even after the feature ends.Â

But the million-dollar question remains, is there any hope? If you believe the documentary, then yes. And it all lies in uniting women across the nation, letting them know that there is hope beyond what seems like perpetual darkness. Hope also lies in making them understand their own power and fighting these atrocious crimes together. Even though it seems mythical, like a mountain that cannot be moved, Shristi makes the audience believe that if we start the journey, then even the impossible will become possible. What it needs is a lot of unlearning and for women to be made aware of their power and abilities.

Directed by Ajitesh Sharma, ‘Women Of My Billion’ is available for viewing on Prime Video from May 3.

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