In the Flesh (2003 film)

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In the Flesh
Directed byBishakha Datta
Written byBishakha Datta
StarringShabana, Bhaskar, Uma
CinematographyRanu Ghosh
Production
company
Release date
  • 2003 (2003)
Running time
53 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish

In the Flesh: three lives in prostitution is a 2003 independent documentary by Bishakha Datta about the lives of three Indian sex workers, written for a family audience.[1] It is a low-budget film set in Calcutta and Mumbai that describes the everyday life of its subjects.[2][3]

It was filmed in 2000, and released in India in 2002, before an international release in 2003.[4] The subjects of the documentary were chosen with help from the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (a Calcutta sex worker collective) and at Calcutta's , an annual event held in the city's Salt Lake Stadium that attracts over 10,000 people a day.[4]

Plot[]

In The Flesh follows three sex workers: Shabana (who works the highways near Mumbai), Bhaskar (a hijra who sells sex to men in Calcutta), and Uma (a former theater actress who lives in a Calcutta brothel). The film follows their daily routines, from picking up customers and sex to their private social lives to violence and activism.

History and reception[]

The idea for the film came about while Datta and Point of View were researching a report for the grassroots organization Sangram about its work with sex workers over the previous 10 years.[5]

After its Indian release in 2002, it was screened internationally in 2003:[6]

  • Global Visions Film and Video Festival, Canada 2003
  • Three Continents Human Rights Film Festival, Cape Town, South Africa 2003
  • South Asia Human Rights Film and Video Festival, New York 2003
  • International Video Festival, Trivandrum 2003

References[]

  1. ^ Indieflix summary and review
  2. ^ "The Hindu : Sex, truth, and videotape". The Hindu. 29 August 2002. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Kanika Sharma (15 November 2013). "Flesh Talkies". MiD DAY. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b From an interview with the director, Show Me Your Indies, 28 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Radhika P. in The Hindu Online. 29 August. 2002". Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ From a Freedom Films India Archived 20 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine list of documentaries.

External links[]

  • Indieflix has a short clip and stills online.
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