■ Documentary on city street soccer player gains attention
When Sangeetha Sekar expressed interest to play football, her family didn’t allow her. They were mainly against it because she had to wear shorts and t-shirts to play the game. But she was determined and Sangeetha represented Team India in the Homeless World Cup that was held a few years ago. Inspired by her life story, Mohit Arora, Aishwarya Ashok and Shikha shot a documentary titled
Made in Madras. “We wanted to narrate Sangeetha’s football journey and by documenting it, we thought it would reach a larger audience. Made in Madras documents Sangeetha’s journey through the struggles of living on the streets to becoming a successful soccer player. The film was funded by Change Chitra and the US Embassy,” says Aishwarya Ashok.
In the documentary, the 20-year-old player says that football is her life and she loved being called a ‘soccer’ player. “When I play football, I cannot focus on anything else because football is my life. My goal is to represent Team India in the Women’s Football World Cup,” Sangeetha says in the documentary.
Currently, Sangeetha is not playing football because of various reasons. “We got in touch with the Vysarpadi football team and they have agreed to include her in the team. We are waiting to see how things pan out. We are also trying to help her get a job. Last time, she was working as a volunteer during the lockdown. Though she participated in the selection process for the state team, she didn’t get through,” adds Aishwarya.
The team behind the documentary wants to reach a larger audience and is planning to screen the film in the city. “We are getting in touch with platforms that screen documentary films. We have also contacted the Street Child World Cup organisers and they have agreed to put the film on their website,” she adds.