In the Flesh (2003 film)
In the Flesh | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bishakha Datta |
Written by | Bishakha Datta |
Starring | Shabana, Bhaskar, Uma |
Cinematography | Ranu Ghosh |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 53 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | English |
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[]
- ^ Indieflix summary and review
- ^ "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) - ^ Kanika Sharma (15 November 2013). "Flesh Talkies". MiD DAY. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ a b From an interview with the director, Show Me Your Indies, 28 August 2009.
- ^ "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) - ^ 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.
- 2003 films
- English-language films
- Indian independent films
- Indian films
- Indian documentary films
- Documentary films about prostitution in India
- Documentary films about women in India
- Films set in Kolkata
- English-language Indian films
- Films set in Mumbai