Totanama

Chandita Mukherjee / Homage / India / Hindi / 32:55 / 1991

8th March 2024 | 5.30 pm | CD Deshmukh Auditorium

Based on the 13th century text ‘Tuti-Nama’ by Zia-ud-din-Nakshabi, this film is a set of three short stories narrated by a parrot blended into each other. The film highlights issues of women’s liberation and independence.

Directors’ bio:

Born in 1952, Chandita Mukherjee was a documentary filmmaker interested in the ways that people understand the world and act on it. After her BA at the Miranda College in New Delhi, Chandita became one of the earliest women direction graduates of the Film & TV Institute of India at Pune. She battled family opposition and paid her own way through the Institute doing many odd jobs including modelling. Her first assignment after graduating was at the ISRO Satellite TV station (SITE) where Indian Television was launched. She went on to make numerous documentaries and shorts including the magnum opus series aired on Doordarshan, ‘Bharat Ki Chaap’ on the History of Science in India. She was a great teacher and has mentored many women in their careers. She has extensively explored the links between society, science and technology in her work, drawn to themes like education, gender equity, the climate crisis, the potential of the internet and digital resources. Chandita has produced films, organised learning festivals and conducted training, working with voluntary groups and educational institutions. An alumna of the Film & TV Institute of India, winner of two National Awards from the President of India and the Jules Verne Prize of the Govt of France for her body of work, Chandita ran a children’s resource shop called Khel Katha (playing and storytelling) centred on artisanal toys and books by innovative Indian publishers. Her last film was Migration and Resilience which has been screened widely.