At the Wheel

One of those girls was Selvi, whose high spirits belied a history of dowry-related violence. “I started to come back each year to follow Selvi around and film her. She inspired me to start shooting again,” says Paloschi. That is how Driving with Selvi was made. The film is currently being fine-tuned, and we caught up with Paloschi in the Capital, when she visited as part of a delegation with the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston a few days ago. “We’re here to sign an audio-visual co-treaty with India that will enable international co-production. Once this happens, Indian and Canadian producers and film-makers can benefit from our collective resources,” she adds.

Paloschi wears her affection for India on her sleeve. “For 10 years, I have been coming here to film simple moments of Selvi’s life. In the beginning, I didn’t think I would ever come across a story like hers elsewhere. Gradually, I realised, gender-based violence and discrimination are rampant all over the world, in some form or another,” she says.

Selvi was married at 14 and, after years of abuse, ran away from her village. Her peers and mentors at the NGO describe her as “smart and articulate”. “She has a licence for large vehicles, which is unusual for a woman,” says the filmmaker.
Through Selvi’s ordinary routine, the film becomes a parable of grit and determination. “Selvi is now married with a daughter, who sees her as a symbol of hope. That is the kind of film I wanted to make. Not a tragic one, but a courageous film about hope,” she says.

Among the organisations that took interest in the film is the London-based The Good Pitch, which enables filmmakers to raise funds by discussing their films with producers, government officials and hand-picked audiences. The Good Pitch held a session in Mumbai in January, where one audience member gifted Selvi a truck while others made cash contributions for the film.