Cinema collective to showcase five independent and documentary films in three-day festival

The heart of the narrative travels back to the 1930s and 1940s. Here we meet Anand’s uncles, Achyut Patwardhan and Rau Patwardhan figures who were not merely family members but committed participants in the freedom struggle. Achyut Patwardhan emerged as a hero during the Quit India Movement of 1942, living underground to evade British authorities. Rau Patwardhan, on the other hand, was a devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi, deeply committed to the vision of a pluralistic and secular India.

Through personal letters and archival footage, the film brings to life a time when conversations about revolution were as common at the family dinner table as everyday household matters. For them, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam was not simply a phrase, it was a belief that religion should remain personal and that the nation belonged to everyone.

As the film unfolds, we realize that the word Kutumbakam family in the title refers not only to his own bloodline, but also to the universal sense of brotherhood that his ancestors believed in and struggled to uphold.

He said ,”At the beginning, there was no motive to make a film. The only motive was to preserve the memory of my family for myself. The reason for editing and showing it to the public was that I realised that what I had recorded was a part of history that is slowly being erased in today’s India. It is disappearing because the government of the day does not want the real history of this country to be told to people. In our country and in many other countries, people often do not care when others die. They do not even pay attention to it because they feel no connection to them. But if those people were your family members, you would care deeply. If you believed that the people in Iran, such as the 165 school girls who were killed when Israel and America dropped bombs, were part of your own family, you would feel deeply upset. That feeling that the whole world is one family is something we need to remember and develop again.”

He added,” One important reason for showing the film is to present what really happened during the freedom struggle and what the aspirations of those freedom fighters actually were. They were fighting for a secular society, for a socialist society, and for a society where caste differences would eventually disappear.”

On March 14 audiences can watch Oh That’s Bhanu Directed by R V Ramani at 5:30 pm. An elegant and witty woman, whose hearing and memory don’t usually stand up, has led an enigmatic, passionate, yet simple and pragmatic life. Oh That’s Bhanu received award for best direction (non-feature film category) in the 68th National Film Awards.

Later at 8:00 pm, Holy Rights (2021), a documentary directed by Farha Khatun, explores how patriarchal interpretations of Sharia law deny Muslim women equality and justice. The film follows the journey of women in India fighting against these restrictive interpretations to claim their rightful place in society.

The final day begins at 12:00 pm. Directed by Sumira Roy, Bhangaar follows the life of a couple, Ira and Narayan Lavate, living in a chawl in Charni Road, and their battle to not just lead a life of dignity but also bring dignity into death. An elderly couple decides to end their life. Their quest to die breathes new life into their existence, when uthanasia is not an option in India. End-of-life choices are difficult for everyone and the head-in-the-sand attitude we have towards death comes starkly to the forefront of the film.

The festival concludes at 2:00 pm with Directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Samarth Mahajan, Borderlands is an intimate exploration of how everyday lives intertwine with both personal and political boundaries across the Indian subcontinent. It tells the stories of six characters who live along the national borders of our country, on the edges of Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar. Through conversations and observations, the characters reveal their efforts to find meaning in a world beyond their control. Divided families meet, love blossoms across borders, and traffickers get caught in this slice-of-life documentary.

The screenings will take place from March 13 to 15, 2026, at The Box. The lineup features five distinctive films by noted independent filmmakers.