Untold tales of a secret India
The vibrancy of “secret India” is what keeps documentary filmmaker Anu Malhotra going. Long after doing India’s first two travel shows, Namaste India and Indian Holidays besides several other shows for various channels and battling chronic disease, Anu is now screening Shamans of Himalayas, her record of untold magic religious practices in Kullu Valley, on national television.
Talking about her fascination for travel shows, Anu says the secret lies in our diverse culture. “As I travelled the length and breadth of the country and explored remote areas, I experienced our diverse cultures and living traditions. I realised that away from cosmopolitan cities, existed vibrant ways of life which have been kept alive for centuries, a secret India. This India, which has never been extensively documented, is disappearing fast with the onslaught of modernisation. I set out to document some of these unique societies including Shamans,” she says.
However, it was not easy to film this documentary. “The main challenge was to do the ground research since there is very little documentation of the practices that I was interested in filming. I had to put together bits and pieces from stray research material and had to rely on local sources as I went along. Second was the language issue. Most people I interacted with only speak their local language and their Hindi is less than functional. But the main challenge was to get permission to film the rituals as these are very closely guarded by the community. I had to convince them that my interest in their culture was empathetic and genuine and I was not motivated by sensationalism nor was I a cultural voyeur,” explains Anu.
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