The Heart Goes On

The Indian Express Film Club screening of G Kutta Se was topped off by a lively debate on how society polices women’s bodies and minds

| Updated: September 21, 2017 12:28 am
G Kutta Se, Movie G Kutta Se, Mumbai Screening G Kutta Se, Mumbai Screening, Entertainment News, Indian Express, Indian Express News A still from the film G Kutta Se

The Mumbai screening of G Kutta Se, as part of the Indian Express Film Club on September 19, saw the audience engage in a vigorous debate about the universality of patriarchy and various ways in which women’s bodies and their behaviour are policed. Filmmaker Rahul Dahiya’s directorial debut, takes the audience right into the heart of a Haryana village not too far from the metropolitan glitter of Delhi. It presents a harrowing portrayal of what price a traditional patriarchal society extracts from those who throw off the shackles of expectations and follow their heart.

The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta opened the post-screening discussion by pointing out that, while the language and minutely observed details used in the film set it in a specific locale, it is in fact a “microcosm of the world”. Observing that one of the strengths of the movie is how layered the characters are, she said, “It is an empathetic movie because it shows how the characters are conditioned into behaving the way they do.”

Dahiya, who was present at the screening with cast members Rashmi Singh Somvanshi, Rajveer Singh and Sandeep Goyat, said that every incident in the movie was based on a real-life occurrence, including the central murder. “It was based on a person I knew in my village, a girl that I had known from school. One day, when I returned from college, my mother told me that she had died. Her family had killed her, and then they had propped her body on a bullock cart and brought her back home, as if she was still alive. That stayed with me, and I wondered what could make parents kill their own children,” he said.

G Kutta Se, Movie G Kutta Se, Mumbai Screening G Kutta Se, Mumbai Screening, Entertainment News, Indian Express, Indian Express News Prashant Nadkar

For many in the audience, the film was an eye-opener to the grim realities of honour killings, and the many ways in which women learn to cope with an oppressive social structure.

Agnimitra Dey, a 25-year-old IT professional, said, “I was closely observing the women and it was commendable how they developed the courage to face their daily lives. Despite so much oppression, they were still willing to take a chance on love, and throw caution to the wind.”

As Dahiya pointed out, this was the silver lining in an otherwise bleak film. “It’s just the fact that people go on loving, no matter what,” he said.