Inspiration for the PSA?

India probably has the largest number of goddesses and female deities compared to any other culture in the world. Our social structure has thoroughly based on values of respect and dignity over knowledge or wealth. However in the recent past there has been an unseen (shocking) rise in the crime against women. The crime has many faces: female infanticide, domestic violence, dowry, gender discrimination and rape to name a few. Physical abuse towards women however has suddenly become a national sport of some sort. The number of rapes and assault cases have doubled compared to the previous decade. What is even more worrying (if any comparison needs to be made) that acts such as rape have started to be carried out in the groups, in broad day light and densely populated metros of the country. This is a clear indicator (to me at least) of the infection that has entered our value system. The dwindling men-women ratio, blind aping of western culture (in no way I am hinting that this is the way of the west) and rise of women in power are the prime stimulators of the such behaviors.

I personally feel that no amount of government or law and order enforcement shall resolve the problem in the way necessary. The men of the country has to develop a strong sense of responsibility that goes beyond his immediate family. He has to accept the role of upholder of respect and dignity of women in the widest sense.

Personally in my life my mother has been the single biggest influencer of my values and thought system. She has instilled in me the values that make me see beyond my immediate surroundings. There have been a few extremely gruesome and unsettling accounts of rape in the country. Being a son, brother, husband, friend, employer and a citizen of the country; I felt a huge need to voice my opinion on the subject. I did not want to just highlight the issue but also present a possible solution. That’s when it occurred to me that if all MEN understood and accepted that all women was someone’s sister, daughter, mother.. and they would take up the responsibility to protect them – that would be the most efficient mechanism that would stop this evil. So I decided to make a short film about how if men would open themselves to taking a larger responsibility in the society and extend the commitment of protection from their own families to society at large.

Initial film was planned with actors but upon more thinking it occurred to me that for a good film I shall need good performers. Good performers live the life of the characters in their head & heart; this is when I realized that all the women cast in the film shall have to play the victim in their heads. This may cause some emotional suffering for them which I thought would defeat the purpose of this film. Hence I decided to make a film without actors. We have used only stock footage for the audio avoiding any distress to the dubbing artists as well.