This DU alumnus questions honour killings in debut film

‘YOU MADE ME QUESTION MY PARENTS’

Here’s a Computer Science graduate, an alumnus of Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College who has penned a film that questions the social evil of honour killings. Rahul Dahiya has also directed G Kutta Se (English title: G — A Wanton Heart). It was the official selection at Chicago South Asian Film Festival and MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2015.

Dahiya, who has worked as an assistant director with filmmaker Sudhir Mishra on the film, Khoya Khoya Chand (2007), shares that a heartwrenching incident in his mother’s village motivated him to make the film. “I came to know of a girl who was electrocuted by her family for being in love. The image stayed in my head. I wanted to explore how your loved ones can turn against you and even kill you for a feeling like that. I wanted to expose the hypocrisy surrounding sex and the simmering brutality even in our so-called prosperous villages... The reason is always linked to the family’s ‘honour’,” says this Gurgaon resident who shifted to Mumbai in 2005.

Dahiya says the film is set in Haryana because he understands the language, nuances and its people better. But, this could be happening anywhere in the country. “Honour killing is not an isolated issue... There are crimes against women even in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.”

Ask him how filmmaking became a part of his life, and Dahiya shares, “Back in college, I didn’t have any plans of filmmaking. In second year, I became interested in moving images. It all started with the experience of processing film roles in the dark room. I began photography and started recording shots of time spent on campus and gradually, got interested in films.” ‘Let me tell you what you have done. The pain is still not gone. You made me question my parents, my birth, my human existence.’ These powerful lines from Dalit Rap by Sumeet Samos, are directed towards those who make him feel like an outcast. “The idea behind the rap is inspired by my personal experiences of discrimination — which include educational institutions and places where I lived,” says the 23-year-old student of Latin American Literature at JNU. In another rap, he has spoken about Baba Saheb aka BR Ambedkar, a politician who played a prominent part in drafting the Constitution of India. “We have our own heroes such as Baba Saheb Ambedkar, social reformer Mahatma Phule and Savitri Bai — who started an all girls school in the 19th century. Most of the privileged people are not aware of their contribution,” adds Sumeet.