Joining Forces

There was enough of India in Toronto last week 8212; from the slums of Mumbai and the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati?

Australian filmmaker Megan Doneman on her documentary on Kiran Bedi

There was enough of India in Toronto last week 8212; from the slums of Mumbai and the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati? flickering on Danny Boyle8217;s Slumdog Millionaire to the razzmatazz of Punjab in Singh is Kinng. And then there was Kiran Bedi 8212; in Australian filmmaker Megan Doneman8217;s compelling feature-length documentary, tongue-in-cheekily titled Yes Madam, Sir. The story of the first woman IPS officer, narrated by Academy Award-winning Helen Mirren, was screened as part of the Toronto International Film Festival8217;s Real to Reel section that showcased 20 of the finest non-fiction films of 2008.

Doneman first read about Bedi when she was just 13 in a newspaper article her mother brought home from India. 8220;The story was headlined 8216;Kiran Bedi: India8217;s First Woman Police Officer Doing it her Way!8217; Even as a young girl, I knew how significant and bold that was,8221; says Doneman, who next spotted her on television. She watched in disbelief the programme on Bedi introducing Vipassana meditation in Tihar Jail. 8220;About 1,000 prisoners practised Vipassana in complete silence for 10 days and emerged from the experience weeping in the arms of the stoic prison guards, repenting their criminal behaviour. It was unbelievable,8221; reminisces Doneman.

Nine years ago, Doneman began e-mailing Bedi, hoping that she might agree to let her do a film. 8220;Bedi is one of these fascinating people. What motivates her to live her life the way she does? What drives her to continually oppose the status quo in the face of huge adversity and personal consequence? I had to know,8221; says Doneman. Even as she pursued Bedi over the years, Doneman, a graduate of business communications and film at the University of Technology, Sydney, worked as assistant editor in Mission: Impossible 2 and The Lord of the Rings trilogy8217;s The Two Towers and The Return of the King. But Yes Madam, Sir was to be her directorial debut. Doneman is not surprised by that. What she wondered, instead, was why did Bedi decide to go with an 8220;unknown girl from Australia after turning down offers from esteemed filmmakers for 15 years8221;. Finally, when Bedi invited her to fly to India, Doneman put the question to the top cop. 8220;She replied, 8216;Because I am going to enjoy watching you struggle and fight to somehow pull this off.8217; I guess she had done that all her life,8221; smiles Doneman, who watched Bedi at home and at work for months and pored through archives. And she found the clue to her character. 8220;The true drama lies not in Bedi8217;s extraordinary courage, but in the inherent contradictions in her character,8221; says Doneman. 8220;The very qualities that allow her to triumph could ultimately lead to her undoing.8221; Bedi wouldn8217;t disagree.