Sir Madam Sarpanch
Sir Madam Sarpanch is a visually stunning, satirical film which celebrates the resilience of an intergenerational group of women working together within their social circles to fight corruption. It is loosely based on the incredible true stories of Indian women who are trying to bring about change in their respective villages. It is written and directed by the award-winning director Praveen Morchhale (winner of India’s 65th National Film Awards 2017 as well as the ICFT- UNESCO GANDHI Medal 2018). The film ensemble includes national award winning talent (Seema Biswas) and established actors (film, television, theater) such as Bhagwan Tiwari, Ariana Sajnani, Ajay Chourey, Jyoti Dubey, Hemant Deolekar, Tanishka Hatwalne, Yogesh Dubey, Kavya Kant Khare, Manish Tiwari, Shivam Dwivedi, Naman Mishra, Shubhangini Shrivas and Rajnish Kumar Yadav. In the film, Ariana’s character Ana, an Indian girl who has grown up in the U.S., returns to start a library in her ancestral village in central India. While trying to carry out her noble plan, she inadvertently ignites a firestorm as she learns (sometimes in a hilarious fashion) how the stagnant bureaucracy promotes corruption within the village’s political and social fabrics. Cultural and systemic hurdles discourage the village women from participating in political processes and public life-in spite of the fact that they may be legally permitted to do so. According to Morchhale, the use of satire is, arguably, one of the safest and most effective ways of commenting on the sociopolitical affairs of a country. “I believe the use of satire as a medium of expression allows for the creation of a cinema of silent resilience… a cinema of hurt…a cinema of integrity… a cinema of our consciousness, and finally, a cinema of hope. The female characters in the film Sir Madam Sarpanch cinematically exemplify these attributes. The film is a tale of women’s strength, will, and resilience to not only survive, but to thrive.” Throughout the film, they grow to understand their individual power but only when they band together do these women make an impact as change agents in society. Sir Madam Sarpanch is an aesthetically pleasing satirical film with social injustice underlined in a subtle and poetic way.