Talk and Film Screening: Imagining the City

CHSC, Center for History, Society and Culture UC Davis
Colloquium Series: On Democracies Spring, 2007

Co-sponsors:
Middle East/South Asia Studies, Cultural Studies, Film Studies 

Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar *
Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

"Imagining the City"

Tuesday, May 8
4:00 p.m.,
Andrews Conference Room, 2203 Social Science and Humanities Building

* Anjali Monteiro is Professor, and K.P. Jayasankar is Professor and Chair, at the Centre for
Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Both are involved in
media production, teaching and research. Their work has been screened extensively at film festivals
all over the world. They have won thirteen national and international awards for their films which
include: the Prix Futura Berlin 1995 Asia Prize for “Identity- The Construction of Selfhood”, a
Special Mention of the Jury at MIFF `96 for “Kahankar: Ahankar”, the Certificate of Merit at MIFF
`98 and Best Innovation, Astra Film Festival 1998, Sibiu, Romania for YCP 1997 and the Best
documentary award at the IV Three Continents International Festival of Documentaries 2005,
Venezuela, for “SheWrite”. Monteiro and Jayasankar have authored several papers in the area of
media and cultural studies and have contributed to scholarly journals such as Cultural Studies.
They are both actively involved in ‘Vikalp’ and ‘Films for Freedom’, which are collectives of
documentary filmmakers campaigning for freedom of expression.

NAATA

The Bond
English, 2003,  45 Mins.
Directed by K.P. Jayasankar and Anjali Monteiro

Naata is about Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, two activists and friends, who have been involved in conflict resolution, working with neighbourhood peace committees in Dharavi, Mumbai, reputedly, the largest 'slum' in Asia. This film explores their work, which has included the collective production and use of visual media for ethnic amity. Waqar and Bhau's work raises several uncomfortable questions for the filmmakers, so-called modern, middle-class, secular, urban beings. Naata juxtaposes the multi-layered narrative on Dharavi and the 'stories' of the filmmakers, thereby attempting to foreground a critical and active viewership.