South Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

South Asian Diaspora

Tibet and Nepal

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma

Indonesia / East Timor

Australia/Melanesia

Malaysia

Philippines

Pacific Islands


Asian American Studies
South and East Asian cinema - films by South/Southeast Asian filmmakers
The Movies, Race, and Ethnicity - a listing of movies with South/Southeast Asian diaspora themes
General Movies listing - American and European films set in South/Southeast Asia
Sixties - documentaries and movies on the Vietnamese War

South Asian Women (SAWNET) Movie Page
Columbia University Libraries listing of South Asian video catalogs
University of Wisconsin South/Southeast Asia Video Archive
South Asian Videos, University of Virginia Library

South Asia (Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)

1-800-INDIA
Over the past decade, India has emerged as the leader in the global market for white-collar "outsourcing" jobs-- a notable component of India's rapid economic growth. This documentary explores the experience of young Indian men and women who have been recruited into these new jobs requiring long hours, night shifts, and westernized work habits. Also reveals the human and cultural effect on Indian family life, the evolving cities and towns, and on the aspirations and daily lives of young Indians, especially women, entering the work force. Dist.: Films Media Group. Originally broadcast on PBS television program Wide angle on Sept. 13, 2005. 57 min. DVD 6570

Absorption in Brahman.
A short history of India is followed by the story of the development of Hinduism in that country. Includes a discussion of the Hindu religion and beliefs. 25 min. Video/C 2466

Acting Like a Thief: A Documentary
This story of a Chhara tribal theatre group in Ahmedabad, India. The members of the Budhan Theatre are tribal rebels who were notified as "born criminals" by the British in 1871, and imprisoned in a labor camp in Ahmedabad. After Indian independence, they were de-notified, but the stigma of being "born criminal" follows them to this day. This documentary reveals how theatre has transformed the lives of adults and children within the community. Directed and produced by P. Kerim Friedman & Shashwati Talukdar. 2005. 15 min. DVD 6990

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Adhi Adhuri Jhooti Sacchai: 4 Skits on Communal Stereotypes.
Puppets and short skits examine stereotypes of Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities. Accompanied by printed study guide in English: "Partly true and wholly false: a study guide on communal stereotypes." New Delhi, Indian Social Institute, 1986. 26 min. Video/C 4726

Aftermath of the Cyclone in Kutch
Explores the impact of the cyclone which struck the Kutch district of Gujurat in May 1999, killing hundreds and destroying nearly 50,000 cattle and 9000 homes. The film discusses relief efforts and the need to mobilize support. 1999. 15 min. PAL format Video/C 9320

Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy
Investigates how the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) used the Kutch earthquake of Jan. 26, 2001 to disposess the local villagers of their lignite rich land under the guise of giving aid. The film shows how the corporation worked with and through the state, an example of the corporatization of democracy in India. A film by Rakesh Sharma. 2002. 66 min. PAL format. Video/C 9680

Ahmedabad: Life of a City in India.
Traces the history of the city as Hindu rulers were replaced by Muslim rulers, who, in turn, were replaced by British colonial powers. The film shows Ahmedabad today as a modern industrial and administrative center. 1990. 30 min. Video/C 3379

Ajit (The Unconquerable).
Film is a close-up view of an eight-year-old boy who works as a domestic in a middle class Calcutta household. He is shown at his daily tasks--sweeping, cleaning, laundry, and caring for his employer's children. There is no time for school but when he is interviewed, Ajit says he is fortunate for in this household he is given ample food as wages, while in the countryside he often went hungry. 1996. 28 min. Video/C 4915

Ajuba Dance and Drama Co.
Introduces a troupe of popular entertainers in North India. Performing in private compounds, factory yards, and mango groves, they stage a type of theatre known as Nautanki, an amalgam of music, dance, comedy routines, and drama. Nautanki draws as easily from the arts of royal courts as it does from the latest Bombay feature films. 1990. 20 min. Video/C 3380

Altar of Fire
Documents the last performance of the Agnicayana or Atriatra, a Vedic sacrificial ritual, enacted by the Nambudiri Brahmins in Panjal, a village in Kerala, southwestern India in April 1975. Explains the origin of the Vedic sacred literature, discusses how the oral tradition is perpetuated, shows construction of sacrificial altars and sheds, and introduces the principle participants in the ritual. Produced by Robert Gardner and Frits Staal. 1976. 45 min. DVD 5496; vhs Video/C 8152

Amrit Beeja: The Eternal Seed
Rural peasant women in India struggle to maintain traditional farming practices in defiance of the spread of technologically-based cultivation in this documentary exploring the changing meanings of healthy land use. 1996. 43 min. DVD 4265

Amrita Imroz
A presentation on the life and works of the Hindi and Panjabi authoress, Amrita Pritam, b. 1919, including an interview of the writer by Imaroza. 1998. 60 min. PAL format. Video/C 6960

Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh.
Describes traditional Ladakhi culture and the change brought by tourism and development. Also examines the disturbing direction of Western society and some thoughts on the lessons that the West can learn from traditional cultures. 1993. 60 min. Video/C 4383

Ancient India.
This program examines the religious tension between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, and the historical events that shaped the great Indian civilizations from the Morian Empire through the Mogul Empire, providing insight into a culture that remains vibrant and diverse today. Dist: Films Media Group. 1999. 47 min. Video/C 7032

Another Way of Learning; There's More to School.
Two documentaries by the voluntary group Eklavya, presenting their philosophy and efforts to provide more effective and meaningful educational opportunities for rural children in India. 50 min. [199-?]. Video/C 9306

Antarnaad (Inner Voice).
The film is about the true life experiences of two villages and the trasformation that occured through Swadhyaya activity. 1992. 160 min. Video/C 3703

Arranged Marriages
Explores attitudes among educated Indian couples, asking them how they met and married their spouses. In India marriages are a family matter often arranged to improve the social standing of the family. This documentary makes a visit to a marriage bureau, wherearriages earnest parents look over the qualifications of potential mates for their children; education, caste, religion, profession and physical attribues all figure in the equation. 2001. 52 min. Video/C 9260

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

The Art of Forgetting
Documentary based on the civil war and ethnic conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka. Covers the past thirty years of the war and assassinations in the North, East and South of Sri Lanka. The subject of the film is the impact and scale of human suffering for people caught in the clash between those demanding a motherland and those defending a motherland. A film by Lisa Kois. 2005. 56 min. DVD 8957

Ashes in the River: Four Religions of India
Dist: Films Media Group. 1995.

Spiritual India: A Guide to Jainism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. This program provides an overview of four of India's prominent religions: Jainism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Stunning footage from around the subcontinent displays India's religious heritage along with its monumental shrines, temples, festivals and sacred rituals all set against the backdrop of the nation's history, geography and rich variety of cultures and languages. 58 min. Video/C 7357

Jainism: Ascetics and Warriors. Abutting the border of Pakistan, the state of Rajasthan is the home of the Jains, a relatively small but influential indigenous religious group founded by Vardhamana Mahavira. This program profiles Jainism, which espouses salvation by conquering material existence through stict ascetic discipline. The imperative detachment from worldly existence necessary for liberation is explained, as is ahimsa, the doctrine of non-injury to any living thing. 58 min. Video/C 7358

Islam: The Five Pillars of Faith. Residing to the north of India, the population of Kashmir is primarily Muslim. This program studies the beliefs and practices of Islam in Kashmir. Topics such as the Koran, the Pillars of Islam, the influence of Sharia, and traditional Muslim festivals and holy sites are addressed. Background on the arrival of Islam in Kashmir and its spread throughout India creates a historical context for the religion's predominance in many regions. 52 min. Video/C 7359

Buddhism: The Great Wheel of Being. This program presents the tenets and history of the belief system founded on the teachings of Buddha as practiced in Sikkim, tucked between Nepal and Bhutan and Darjeeling, located in an adjoining district of West Bengal. A discussion of the Four Noble Truths, including the Eightfold Path, sheds light on the practice of Buddhism in these regions while ancient monuments testify to the enduring nature of the religion. Video/C 7360

Hinduism: Faith, Festivals and Rituals. In Kerala, situated in the southern tip of India, Hinduism is the principal belief. This program examines the multifaceted majority religion of India in this region. Devotional ceremonies and observances of Hinduism and sacred Hindu literature, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are explored, as are some of the region's ornate temples. The Hindu emphasis on right living, or dharma, is also discussed. 51 min. Video/C 7361

Asia, Beyond the Miracle
The Asian continent comprises two-thirds of the world's poor, yet it is the site of continuous phenomenal economic growth. This film examines if such growth can be sustained, particularly without serious damage to the ecology. Shot on location in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Nepal and the Philippines. 1997. 15 min. Video/C MM122

Asia's Water Crisis
Explores the conflict of burgeoning populations and economies in three Asian countries -- Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the People's Republic of China -- and looks toward solutions to Asia's growing water crisis and the diminishing supply of safe, potable water. 1997. 19 min. Video/C MM124

Assignment: India.
Profiles the country of India through an exploration of such topics as Gandhi's legacy, internal strife within the Muslim faction in India and India's Sikh minority, child labor practices in the carpet industry, silk weaving, bonded laborers in rock quarries, women's search for greater independence, and the pollution of the Ganges River. 1993. 60 min. Video/C 4258

At the End of a Gun: Women and War. (Life; 9)
Druki's family fell victim to the bloody civil war between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government forces that has been tearing the island of Sri Lanka apart for the last 17 years. This program reports from Sri Lanka on the suffering of thousands of women -- widowed, displaced, detained, separated from husbands, children and other loved ones -- as a result of the war. c2000. 24 min. Video/C 7769(for other installments of series, see Global Issues and Events)

--aur Irani chai.
Documentary on the migrated Iranians who run cafes (famous for Irani tea) as their family business in Bombay, India. 2004? 20 min. DVD 7205

Ayodhya to Varanasi: Prayers for Peace.
A documentary examining the claims of the Ram Temple Movement (Hindutva), an Indian Hindu political movement which began to form in the 1980s. The film begins with the demolition of the Babari Masjid Temple on December 6, 1992, and looks at the symbiotic and cultural bonds among the Hindus and Muslims of Ayodhya, and also the economic downslide in the past ten years. Throughout the message comes out strongly in favour of communal harmony and development, to the divisive ideologies propagated by the Hindutva. 2004. 60 min. Video/C MM174

Balamaniyamma.
A presentation on the life and works of the Malayalam poetess Balamaniyamma, b. 1909. 1998. 30 min. PAL format. Video/C 6955

Balancing Acts.(Life; 4)
This program explores the international movement for women's rights. In Pakistan, seventeen-year-old Hina is challenging tradition to complete her education. In Afghanistan, returning refugees like Maa Gul want the government to honor their right to shelter. In Kenya, Rose, who is HIV positive, is championing rights to independence for widows. And in Nigeria, market trader Tematayo is demanding the government acknowledge her worth as a successful businesswoman. Directed by Beena Sarwar, et al. 2005. 23 min. DVD 3972

Bangladesh.
A documentary on how one of the poorest nations, with a population of 120 million, managed to creatively tackle the enormous challenge of educating its many children. The program highlights government efforts to make schools more accessible, particularly to girls. One compelling story features Shumi, the daughter of a peddler, who longs for an education and a better life than her parents. 1998. 29 min. Video/C 6112

Bangladesh Nationhood--Symbols and Shadows.
A documentary on the struggle of the new nation of Bangladesh to define itself. Reveals, through a series of interviews with peasants, students, businessmen, and religious and political leaders, those conflicts within Bangladesh society that both defined and limited Sheikh Mujib's years in power. 1984. 42 min. Video/C 3776

Bearing the Heat: Mother Goddess Worship in South India.
Documents the Hindu celebrations which center around the mother goddess worship of South India. 1994. 60 min. Video/C 5582

Being Muslim in India.
Presents Islam and the Quran as seen through the lives and perspective of families and individuals in India. 1990. 49 min. Video/C 3775

Benazir Bhutto.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto -- the first female leader of a Muslim country -- discusses her life including the execution of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, her exile, and her rise to power and subsequent dismissal from office amidst charges of corruption. 1999. 25 min. Video/C 7039

Bhakta Dhruva.
In this dramatization of a Hindu legend, Young Dhruva Mahraja after being banned from contact with his royal father by his stepmother, decided to seek a kingdom that would rival that of his father. To obtain this power and position, he went to the forest and performed severe austerities, and ultimately gained a gift that surpassed all his expectations. c1993. 90 min. Video/C 6952

Bharat ki chhap.
A film series on the history of science and technology on the Indian subcontinent from pre-history to the present. In Hindi with English subtitles. ca. 52 min. each installment. See Science and Technology videography for complete contents listing

Bhavai Folk Theater of Gujarat, India.
Performances of Bhavai, the medieval form of ancient Indian dramatic art, interspersed with commentary by performers, directors and educators. 1994. 24 min. Video/C 4051

Bhisham Sahni
A presentation on the life and works of the Hindi author, Bhisham Sahni, b. 1915, including interviews with the writer and commentary by East Indian authors, critics and filmmakers. Includes clips from films based on his writings. 29 min. PAL format. Video/C 9592

Bhopal: The Second Tragedy
More than ten years after "the world's biggest chemical disaster," there remain unresolved serious issues of unpaid damages, legal accountability, environmental reform and institutional failure on the part of Union Carbide, the chemical industry, and the US and Indian governments. Dist: Films Media Group. 1995. 54 min. Video/C 4587

Bhopal: The Search for Justice
This documentary explores the continuing cover-up of the Union Carbide pesticide spill in 1984, analyzes the prospect for environmental and human justice in Bhopal, and exposes the responsibility of the multinational corporations. Twenty years later, amid charges of corruption, graft and suppression of medical and environmental research about the tragedy, the victims are still not adequately compensated or cared for. Directed by Lindalee Tracey, Peter Raymont. 2004. 52 min. Video/C MM930

Bhutan: In Pursuit of Gross Mational Happiness
For centuries, Bhutan has been closed to the outside world until development started in the early sixties. Bhutan has been deliberately pursuing a cautious but economically successful path of development to preserve its unique culture and traditional values and its fragile largely unexploited natural environment. This film explores how this nation, which has been declared a role model in sustainable development, is balancing heritage and development. 1997. 10 min. Video/C MM428

The Birth of Pakistan.
Traces the history of Pakistan from its beginning as a Muslim separatist movement, its independence as a political entity, the separation of Bangladesh, the battle resulting in the Indus Water Treaty and its ongoing struggle to establish and maintain a democratic government. Includes the history of its political leaders: Mohamed Ali Jinnah, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, and Benazir Bhutto. 1990. 20 min. Video/C 5175

The Bomb Under the World.
An ornately decorated elephant leads a parade through anIndian village, in a promotional campaign for soap. Consumer society is coming, and India's growing population looks for the same goods and a similar living standard as the West enjoys. This film examines the consequences of Western-style consumerism in a large developing country. 1994 52 min. Video/C 7203

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Bombay: Our City
Four million slum dwellers make up half of Bombay's population. Although they are the city's workforce--industrial laborers, construction workers, domestic servants--they are denied city utilities like electricity, sanitation, and water. 1985. 58 min. Video/C 3163

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Born Into Brothels
While living in the red light district of Calcutta and documenting life in the brothels, New York-based photographer Zana Briski embarked on a project by which she gave cameras to the children of prostitutes and taught them photography, awakening within them hidden talent and creativity and giving them a means to transform their lives. A film by Ross Kauffman & Zana Briski. c2005. 83 min. DVD 4383

Born to Bondage
Looks at the plight of women in India, where girls are considered to be worth less than boys, often killed as fetuses or as wives sometimes killed over disputes over dowries. These intolerable situations have giving birth to a new found militancy. Phoolan Devi was brutally raped by 22 higher caste men. To revenge this outrage, she led a gang who set about murdering her assailants. After eleven years in jail she is now in parliament compaigning for women. 1985. 40 min. Video/C 7539

Breaking Barriers (Clean Water for Dhaka's Slums).(Water for All Series)
Documentary on a local nongovernmental organization that has pioneered an effective scheme to bring water to poor communities in the squalid slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. 23 min. Video/C MM446

Breaking Barriers
Documentary film looking at some of the initiatives of the community and the state to prevent domestic violence in India. 1999. 60 min. DVD 8945

Bridge of Democracy
In Urdu with addresses in English. Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's visit to the United States of America (June 5th to June 10th, 1989). 1989. Video/C 3902

Buddha and the Rice-planters: Songs and Drums of Sri Lanka
In the 3rd century B.C. Sinhalese village life, folklore, religious rites, sculpture, painting, music and dance became wholly integrated with Buddhism and remains so today. Villagers are seen cultivating and harvesting their rice fields, accompanied by songs and dances. 198? 27 min. Video/C MM1016

Building from Below
Documentary on the impact of agroforestry on rural villages of India, showing several successful land and forest reclamation projects. PAL format. 1999. 30 min. Video/C 7942

The Burning Mines: Impact of Coal Mining on Women
A documentary on the family life of coal miners of Bhubaneswar, India, with particular reference to its impact on women. PAL format. 1998. 33 min. Video/C 7926

Calcutta
When he was cutting Phantom India, Louis Malle found that the footage shot in Calcutta was so diverse, intense, and unforgettable that it deserved its own film. The result, released theatrically, is a chaotic portrait of a city racked with social and political turmoil. Directed by Louis Malle. 1969. 99 min. DVD 7513; vhs Video/C 3602

Calcutta Calling
A snapshot of globalization at work in the 21st century. This documentary follows Vikeel Uppal, a young man who works in a busy calling center, as he gets tutored in the English language, learns pronunciation from commercials and movies, and watches English soccer matches to gain insight into the people he calls on a daily basis. Director, Andre Hormann. Dist. Cinema Guild. c2005. 17 min. DVD 8682

California Dreaming.
A documentary on Indian brides for export. Punjabi girls dream of marrying to move overseas, to escape to a life of "no restrictions," where "a woman's work is appreciated" and "there is plenty of money." But the glamour of life abroad is offset by the reality of immigration problems from refusal of visas to hopelessly waiting to hear from their husband. 1998. 30 min. DVD 4266

Catalysts of Change.
Three programs concerning human rights, sustenance of the environment and the fulfillment of basic human needs in India. In Search of Shelter examines the housing conditions of the lowest caste in Calcutta. The Plough and the Sickle explores agriculture and sharecropping in India. Fringe Dwellers examines the social and economic conditions of the indigenous peoples of India. 1988. 85 min. Video/C 4728

Caste at Birth.
Written, directed, and produced by Mira Hamermesh. In India there are 150 million "untouchables" who live a segregated life. They cannot own land or get an education and are condemned from birth to the most menial jobs. While the government has tried to improve the condition of the untouchables, these attempts have met with strong resistance from upper caste Hindus who profit from this source of cheap labor. However, a few leaders have arisen from their ranks, who, in the face of overwhelming odds, are trying to bring about change. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 4913

Chatisagarhi Sangavari.
Film on the social life of the Chattisagarh region of India. In Chattisgarhi. 1994. Video/C 4553

Child Labor [Part 1]
First segment: Looks at Pakistan's system of child labor and the movement to abolish it with excerpts from "The Carpet," a documentary film by Magnus Bergmar. The segment concludes with an examination of the tragic death of Iqbal Masih and charges that his death was part of a conspiracy against him by Pakistan's carpet "mafia." Second segment: An interview with UNICEF deputy executive director, Guido Bertolaso. Segment from the television program Rights & wrongs broadcast April 25, 1995. 27 min. Video/C 6720

Children of Asia: Making a Difference
Presents four stories of children in Asia who are making a difference by overcoming their environments. The 1st work focuses on child laborers in southern India who form a union to defend their rights, the 2nd focuses on a teenage girl in northern Thailand coping with becoming an AIDS orphan, the 3rd focuses on children in East Timor striving to overcome the trauma of armed conflict, and the 4th focuses on poor children in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India who are benefiting from information and communication technology. 2001. 50 min. Video/C MM449

Classical Indian Dance.
Presents classical dances from India, demonstrating the range of this art form with its combination of mime, gesture, facial expression and body movement, all executed within a traditional framework rich in allegory.

Contents: Odissi / Dancer, Ranjna Gauhar. -- Bharatanatyam "Vernam" / Alarmel Valli. -- Kathak / Durga Lal. -- Bharatanatyam "Todayam" / Chitralekha Bolar, Indra Thigarajah. -- Kutchipudi / J. Venkatachalapati. -- Kathak / Nahid Siddiqui. -- Bharatanatyam "Vernam" / Alarmel Valli. -- Bharatanatyam "Ardhaneshwaram" / Chitra Sundaram. -- Bharatanatyam "Tillana" / J. Venkatachalapati. -- Odissi "Pallavi" / Ranjna Ganhar. -- Kathak / Durga Lal. -- Bharatanatyam / Chitralekha Bolar. -- Kathak "Tarana" / Nahid Siddiqui. 1995. 60 min. Video/C 4577

The Colonial Idea. ( Age of Uncertainty)
Features economist John Kenneth Galbraith discussing some of the ideas and views on economics that are presented in his book entitled The age of uncertainty. Focuses on colonialism and the colonial adventure using India and Great Britain as the prime example. Presents an in-depth look at the British intervention, control and domination of India and finally the removal of the colonial government. 1976. 60 min. Video/C 480

Colours of the Earth
Documentary television program on the empowerment of Dalit women in Andhra, India through their traditional knowledge of farming. The older women guided others by teaching them traditional practices and together the women pioneered a system that ensures subsidized food grains through the creation of seed banks at the village level. Written & directed by Kavita Das Gupta. 2002. 28 min. Video/C MM858

Community. (Woman's Place)
The Dramatic story of villagers in Bangladesh who have transformed themselves from beggars to business people and simultaneously established positive new roles and relationships for men and women. One women's group now owns a rice mill, another makes roof tiles, and a men's group runs a fish farm. The money raised is held collectively to benefit the entire community. 1995. 24 min. Video/C 4599

Consecration of a Temple.
The Sri Venkateswara Hindu temple in Pittsburgh, is consecrated in a traditional 5 day ceremony in 1977.This film documents the final stages of the consecration of the Hindu temple built by members of that city's Indian-American community. Examines the temple's shrines and statues and their significance within Hinduism and discusses the community's efforts to preserve their language and culture in the face of pressures to be assimilated. 1990. 25 min. Video/C 3777

Circles-cycles: Kathak Dance
Celebrates various images of Shiva, the Hindu Lord of dance, as expressed in ritual dance. Illustrates the concept of the circular in Indian philosophy and religion through music and dance performances of Kathak, the classical dance form of North India. Includes the history, technique, and lore behind Kathak dance. 28 min. Video/C 6567

The Cosmic Dance of Shiva.
Celebrates various images of Shiva, the Hindu Lord of dance, as expressed in ritual dance. 1990. approx. 60 min. Video/C 2616

The Courtesans of Bombay
Pavan Pool is an enclosed area of Bombay where the city's singing and dancing courtesans ply their trade amidst crammed tenements houses where thousands of men seek out forbidden pleasures. This docudrama shows how young girls are groomed in the arts of singing, dancing, and by inference, seduction. It shows a tradition with a special place in Indian society: the entertainment of paying customers - always men - by songstresses and dancers who perform in the classical Hindustani styles of the ancient "nautch" girls. Produced and directed by Ismail Merchant. 1983. 74 min. [DVD includes special feature: Documentary "Street musicians of Bombay"/ Richard Robbins (1994, 52 min.)] DVD 3711
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

Courts and Councils
Shows the traditional panchayat, or caste council, that meets to hear and resolve conflicts and the official state system of district courts, influenced by British law, where civil cases (chiefly land disputes) are handled. 1981. 30 min. Video/C 4261

Creeks of Conflict
Documentary television program on the destruction of the mangrove forests in India due to aquaculture and other development activities. The film also documents the breeding of Oliver Ridley Turtles. A film by Krishnendu Bose. 1996. 30 min. Video/C MM857

Credit Where Credit is Due. (Life; 16)
This segment examines the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee that provides micro-credit to rural women in Bangladesh who live on the edge of poverty. It recounts how taking out a loan revolutionized the lives of village women -- not only increasing their incomes but also helping to improve their, and their children's, health. c2000. 24 min. Video/C 7776(for other installments of series, see Global Issues and Events)

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Cultural Heritage of Pakistan: Architecture
Presents the architecture and buildings of Pakistan and discusses the origins of Pakistani architecture. 21 min. 1999? PAL format. Video/C 9505

Dadi's Family.
A portrait of a farming family in India which focuses on Dadi, the grandmother, who manages a large household of sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren and tries to hold the extended family together despite external and internal changes. Looks at the role and lives of women, who become members of their husband's family upon marriage. 1988. 59 min. Video/C 347

Dalda 13: A Portrait of Homai Vyarawalla
Profiles the life and work of retired Indian photographer Homai Vyarawalla. In a country where women are expected to be submissive, Mrs. Vyarawalla was toting a large camera on her sari draped shoulder, always pushing to where the action was. Her photographs documented the death of Gandhi, the visits of dignitaries such as Ho Chi Minh, Queen Elizabeth and Jackie Kennedy. She gave up her career out of frustration when security restrictions governing female press photographers limited her access. In this film she shares her impressions of her work and the luminaries she photographed. 1995. 23 min. Video/C 4924

A Dance the Gods Yearn to Witness
Introduces the Bharata Natyam dance, a classical Hindu dance form which originated thousands of years ago with the legends of Shiva and Parvati. In this film, a novice learns from well-known artist Priyamvada Sankar, a respected master of classical south Indian dance. Interwoven with the performance are explanations of the history and tradition of this art form to place it in its cultural context. 1997. 27 min. Video/C 8964

Dances of India.
Contents: 1. Slokam: Guru Brahma -- 2. Slokam: Manikya Veena -- 3. Pushpanjali -- 4. Alarippu -- 5. Jatiswaram -- 6. Varnam -- 7. Padam -- 8. Sabdam -- 9. Tillana -- 10. Mangalam. Features Padma Chebrolu performing traditional Bharat natyam dances to music used during formal performances. Also presented are all the dances performed during Arangetram (solo graduation recital), which is done after many years of intense dance training from the guru. 60 min. DVD 2317

Dances of India.
Classic dances of India performed in traditional costume by Nala Najan, leading American dancer and teacher of Indian dance. Dances include a celebrated invocation "of auspicious beginnings" from South India; a south Indian dance to a religious song; and a North Indian dance of great antiquity that came from Hindu tradition but was adapted by the Moslem culture and spread from Spain to China. The closing number, a court dance taught to Najan by the prince of the court titled "Wounded deer," is a metaphor for non-violence. Originally broadcast as a segment on the television series, Camera Three in 1966. 27 min. Video/C 7821

Daughters of the Golden Bengal: Women in the Struggle Against Poverty
Depicts the growing movement of women in Bangladesh who, with the assistance of aid societies, run profitable cottage industries in their villages, often risking severe reprisals as they defy repressive social customs and religious doctrines in order to become financial contributors to their families and villages. 1995. 29 min. Video/C 7041

Death of a River
A documentary about the Manjolai massacre, which took place when Tamil Nadu police attacked a procession of striking tea estate workers, their families and supporters on July 23, 1999 on the banks of the Thamiraparani River, killing 17 people and wounding over 500. The demonstrating workers were demanding that they be paid the half-day wages illegallydeducted from their pay. The film exposes the provocative nature of the police attack, which involved the Rapid Action Force, a special police unit. VHS format (PAL). In Tamil with English subtitles. 2000. 59 min. Video/C 8547

Democracy in Crisis
Surveys the recent events which led to the current religious strife that is tearing India apart. Covers the 20 months following Rajiv Gandhi's ouster in 1989, through his assassination and the violent and chaotic electionwhich followed it. 1991. 50 min Video/C 3047

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Destination--Sri Lanka.
Peace Corps workers describe daily life in Sri Lanka, as well as the history, religious practices, diversity of ethnic groups and variety of languages which create this complex society. 1996. 15 min. Video/C 4736

Destination Tourism.
Bodh Gaya, the world's most popular destination of Buddhist pilgrimage, is located in one of India's poorest states. Visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage site are typically shocked by the extreme poverty there, and the Buddhist tradition of alms-giving motivates them to donate money. As a result, Bodh Gaya has developed a sophisticated charity "industry" which caters to and depends on tourists and tourism. This thought-provoking documentary explores the complex, interconnected effects of tourism, globalization, culture, philanthropy, and religion in Bodh Gaya. Dist.: Berkeley Media. 2007. 20 min. DVD 7846

Dhobighat.
The Dhobighat is the world's largest out-door laundry. Here 4,000 members of the Dhobi caste work night and day to guarantee an essential service to Bombay's 15 million inhabitants. Most Dhobias are illiterate, but they are highly organized and efficient. An intriguing example of how India's caste system works. 2004. 48 min. DVD 4588

Diverted to Delhi
The toll-free telephone numbers used to place orders are often answered thousands of miles away by Indians trained to speak and think like Americans, or Brits or Australians. This film follows a group of university graduates through a rigorous 3-week course which they hope will prepare them for prestigious, well paying positions in these call centers. Over 200 of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies now choose to service their clients via Indian call centers where labor and set-up costs are low and the staff highly educated. c2002. 55 min. Video/C 9721

Description from Filmakers Library Catalog

Division of Hearts.
Ordinary people tell of their experiences during the 1947 partition of India. 1987. 57 min. Video/C 1879

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Drowned Out (1997)
The people of Jalsindhi in central India must make a decision fast. In the next few weeks, their village will disappear underwater as the giant Narmada Dam fills. Author Arundhati Roy joins the fight against the dam and asks the difficult questions. Will the water go to poor farmers or to rich industrialists? The film follows the Jalsindhi villagers through hunger strikes, rallies, police brutality, a six year Supreme Court case and stays with them as the dam fills and the river starts to rise. c2002. 75 min. Video/C 9831

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

The Dynasty: The Nehru-Gandhi Story. (1997)
A two part documentary chronicling India's four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family leaders, using interviews and extensive historical footage to tell the story of their ties through blood, sacrifice and power.

Part 1: chronicles the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and his son Jawaharlal Nehru, the ending of British colonial rule over India, the division of Pakistan and India and the political and social history of India up through the death of Prime Minister Nehru in 1964. 90 min. Video/C 5705

Part 2: chronicles the career of Indira Gandhi, her assassination in 1984 and the death of her younger son Sanjay. Her elder son Rajiv Gandhi reluctantly accepted his mother's "throne" as prime minister and was assassinated in 1991. His widow Sonia, has twice been nominated as president by her party and twice she has refused. Rajiv's son and daughter are as yet too young to enter politics, but India keeps a watchful eye. 90 min. Video/C 5706

Dzumsa: Traditional Natural Resources Management in Sikkim, India
Lachung and Lachen are two unique villages in the remote alpine region of North Sikkim. Due to their relative isolation, they have, over the centuries, developed a highly effective form of self-governance. It not only regulates the realm of social life, but is also instrumental in maintaining a balance with nature. It is clear that survival in the mountains is intricately linked with nature, and the prudent realization that, unless strictly regulated, the bounty of nature would deplete, makes the villagers implement the rules rigorously. 2002. 26 min. DVD 7323

The Effect of TV on Culture in India.
This program focuses on the cultural effects of television broadcasting in India. It examines the rapid rise of satellite TV and cable channels and discusses their role in altering Indian perceptions of caste, class, and gender. Interviews with Indian academics and representatives from TV and film are combined with specific information on TV viewing habits in urban and rural locations in India. Dist: Films Media Group. 1998. 30 min. Video/C 6114

Ehsas.
Television serial dealing with the problems faced by a Pakistani father in bringing up his two minor children after the death of their mother. Videocassette release of a film originally produced in 1987 or 1988. 133 min. Video/C 3739

Elephant, A God in Distress
Documentary television program on the various living conditions that elephants experience in the many environments of India. Explains their social behavior and what they need to successfully survive. Includes extensive footage of elephants in the wild. Looks at how the encroachment of humans is causing a dwindling numbers of elephants in India, including the effect of ivory poachers on these numbers. Writer, director, Krishnendu Bose. c1999. 30 min. Video/C MM865

The Eluvsive Mountain Gya
In 1997, climbers from a variety of South Asian countries, set out to climb Mt. Gya on the Indo-Tibet border. The film follows the team as they move through high altitude passes on an old trade route between Tibet and the north Indian plains and stays with them through four days of ascent until the summit is successfully reached at 22,400 feet. c1998. 25 min. Video/C 8548

The Family Krishnappa
Depicts one day in the life of a typical rural family and village in Southern India. 1977. 18 min. Video/C 4259

Father, Son and Holy War.
A film examining the connection between religion, violence and male identity in India today and exploring the possibility that a key to the psychology of violence against "the enemy" is male insecurity, itself an inevitable product of the very construction of "manhood". 1994. 120 min. Video/C 3638

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog
Fehmul Quran.
Readings from the Koran and teachings on the proper understanding of the Koran by Maulana Kausar Niazi. In Urdu. 1988. 85 min. Video/C 4729

The Fifth Schedule.
A discussion of the effects of the intrusion of non-tribals into tribal habitat in the Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh which has resulted in large scale alienation of tribal land, deforestation, and ecological degredation. Also examines the initiatives for development, both by governmental voluntary sources. 1990. 44 min. PAL format Video/C 470

Fishing in the Sea of Greed
As export governments hand over territorial waters to transnational corporations, they actively promote abuse of the seas. This film documents the response of traditional fishing communities in India to the threat of displacement by overfishing and pollution resulting from industrial fishing practices such as use of gigantic factory ships, and the protests of Bangladesh rice growers to the flooding of large stretches of fertile land with salt water. 1998. 45 min. Video/C 7901

Footprint of the Buddha - India
Ronald Eyre visits Sri Lanka and India to discover the type of Buddhism practiced throughout Southeast Asia. Includes talks with monks, school children, novices, and housewives who describe their own religious experiences and discuss the high moral standards demanded by Buddhism. 1978. 52 min. Video/C 192

For a Place Under the Heavens
Beginning with the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Sumar traces the relationship of Islam to the state in an effort to understand how women are coping with and surviving the increasing religiosity of civil and political life in her country. She struggles to comprehend how religious schools have expanded at unthinkable rates and presents chilling footage of a mother encouraging her toddler to be a martyr when he grows up. Mixing political analysis with interviews with activist colleagues, noted Islamic scholars and Pakistani women who have chosen to embrace fundamentalism, Sumar's provocative questions dramatically capture the tension between liberal and fundamentalist forces that are shaping life in contemporary Pakistan. A film by Sabiha Sumar. 2003. 53 min. Video/C MM352

Women Make Movies catalog description

Forest of Bliss.
A film without commentary, subtitles or dialogue on daily life in the Holy City of Benares filmed from one sunrise to the next, including daily customs and religious rituals. A film by Robert Gardner. 1986. 90 min. DVD 5516

The Fountains of Paradise.
Examines Sri Lanka's plans and hopes for its Mahaweli Irrigation Project, as well as the economic, social, and environmental costs for the country. 1984. 57 min. Video/C MM802

Four Holy Men: Renunciation in Hindu Society.
A documentary on four sadhus: a mission hospital administrator, a traditional guru who heads a monastery, a recluse with no organizational ties, and a scholar who is also founder of a national political party. Interviews with the sadhus and with lay people reveal a wide range of opinions on the roles of sadhus in Hindu society today. In Hindi and Bengali, with English subtitles. 1990. 37 min. Video/C 4140

4 Skits on Communal Stereotypes.
Accompanied by printed study guide in English: "Partly true and wholly false: a study guide on communal stereotypes." New Delhi, Indian Social Institute, 1986. Puppets and short skits examine stereotypes of Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities. In Hindi. 1986 M-PAL format. 26 min. Video/C 4726

Fourth Islamic Summit: Speech by Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, 17th January 1984.
Speech by President General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq (Pakistan) at Fourth Islamic Summit in Islamabad on 17th January, 1984. Video/C 3801

The Fourth Stage
Documentary about a retired Indian journalist, E.R. Seturam, who is considering whether to embark on an ancient Hindu quest for self-realization through the fourth stage of life (sannyasa). Accompanies Seturam as he discusses his possible decision with colleagues, family members, other sannyasins, and holy men throughout India. 1984. 42 min. Video/C 6598

Fragile Promise
What promise does the new millennium hold for Asia's vast army of child laborers? One answer can be found in Bangalore, India where working children have organized a union to fight for their rights and welfare. This is the story of children changing their lives for the better, children for whom the future holds a fragile promise. 2001. 11 min. Video/C 9142

Free to Sing?: The Music of Suman Chatterjee.
Suman Chatterjee is a Bengali political singer from Calcutta whose political stance, critical of the right as well as the left, has made him a persecuted and an immensely popular singer at the same time. This film which contains interviews with Suman and citizens of Calcutta, poets, journalists, artists, intellectuals and fellow musicians is also generously interlaced with song sequences and scenes from Calcutta. 56 min. Video/C 4715

Freedom Now, 1947 (The People's Century )
In 1947, 160 years of British rule came to an end as India became the world's largest democracy, inspiring the fight for freedom on another continent. This film talks with the people who witnessed and participated in the struggle for independence in India and Africa. While Mohandas Gandhi showed the world how the masses could successfully defy their imperial masters, his example spurred others on: European empires in Africa and Asia began to crumble, and in short order, Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Mozambique, and dozens more would win their freedom. 1998. 56 min. Video/C 5553

From the Diary of a Genetic Counsellor.
The program takes up two cases of Down's Syndrome with different genetic profiles (Trisomy 21 and Translocation 14-21) and traces the counseling process involved in each case. The aim is to highlight counseling strategies in India that could be adopted to help clients come to terms and deal with the disorder. 1990. 30 min. PAL format Video/C 469

Frontiers of Faith: World Sikhism Today.
Describes Sikh principles and lifestyle and documents the recent history and current state of Sikhism in India, Europe, and North America. Interviews with Sikh leaders and families, scholars, and human rights activists reveal a people subjected to varied levels of racial discrimination and, in India, harsh suppression and even massacres. Since the 1984 killing of Sikh fundamentalist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Sikh political leaders have continued to press for an autonomous homeland, which they call Kalistan. Dist: Films Media Group. 1999. 49 min. Video/C 6293

Gandhi.
This film follows Gandhi's life from young lawyer through his historic struggle to free India from colonial rule. Winner of 8 Academy Awards. An all-star cast headed by Ben Kingsley. 1982. 188 min. 999:203

The Ganges(Great Rivers of the World)
Tells the historical, geographical, and human story of the "mother of rivers," of the Aryan civilization that shaped much of Western civilization, the birthplace of Hinduism, the holy of holies of nearly a billion people. The Ganges flows from the heights of Tibet to water a fourth of the Indian subcontinent. 1991. 45 min. Video/C 4580

Ganges: River to Heaven
This documentary explores one of the most cherished of Hindu religious aspirations: to die in the city of Varanasi, on the banks of the sacred Ganges, in the faith that dying here assures liberation from the cycle of earthly life. Directed and produced by Gayle Ferraro. c2003. 52 min. DVD 4596

Description from Berkeley Media LLC catalog

Given to Dance
An exploration of the lives of the last Hindu temple dancers in India...women who were regarded as brides of the god and consecrated to dance. Includes interviews with former temple dancers, a study of their dance techniques and of Odissi dance as it is now performed on stage in India. 1986. 57 min. Video/C 4255

Gokak Goes Green
Documentary on the establishment of an industrial greenbelt through afforestation by the firm Gokak Mills in the Belgaum District of India. PAL format. 1999. 12 min. Video/C 7943

The Good Earth: An Insight into Sustainable Agriculture
Documentary on the small and big farms in India that are using natural farming methods to create a sustainable agricultural system. The farmers themselves talk about their methods of natural farming. Director, producer, Krishnendu Bose. 1993. 41 min. Video/C MM861

The Great Awakening: Rise of Buddhism in India
A short history of the life of Siddhartha Gautama is followed by a discussion of Buddhism and its development in India. Contents: Great awakening, Buddhism in India. Contents: 1. Buddha. -- 2. Dharma. -- 3. Sangha. 1991. 45 min. Video/C 2467

Great Benazir Bhutto.
On the life and activities of Benazir Bhutto, prime minister of Pakistan, including footage of her public speeches. Closes with a 10 minute press conference in English. 1994. 180 min. Video/C 4727

Harishcandra.
In this Hindu legend severe tests face a noble king who is known throughout the universe for never swaying from his principles. The sages Narada and Vishvamitra conspire to test King Harischandra, but even the severest hardships cannot sway him from his word or destory his faith in Krishna. 1997. 137 min. Video/C 4947

Harvest of Rain (Wealth of Nations. People and the Environment)
One of the basic principles of water management is to conserve water where it falls. But India is chasing hydraulic nightmares: big dams and canals while an age-old wisdom lies forgotten. This video examines India's traditional water harvesting systems, wandering though Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, to illuminate a profound science of the people. The film analyses a wide variety of water management systems as a function of differing ecological terrains. 1995. PAL format. 1995. 48 min. Video/C 5660

Harvesting Hunger
Documentary television program on the crisis in Indian agriculture. Specifically looks at the Kalahandi region and Punjab which rely heavily on the forest and the land for their livelihood. Discusses the return of many farmers to traditional methods of farming which require no pesticides and do not rely on overpriced seeds from seed companies that form monopolies and overcharge for inferior products. Also looks at the plight of the farmers who end up in deep debt and in despair drink pesticides to end their lives. Written and directed by Krishnendu Bose. 2000. 53 min. Video/C MM864

Hello Photo.
Nina Davenport spent one year travelling throughout India, capturing images of the people and the country few Westerners ever see: a jute factory straight out of the industrial age, a mosque decorated with erotic sculptures, cows stuck in traffic jams, elephants blessing people, scenes of a traveling circus, inside a school for the blind, and holy people possessed by spirits. We return now and then to the sets of Bombay's thriving film industry and to the streets themselves in a unique visual experience of India. 1995. 55 min. Video/C 4398

Herra Puntila Sri Lankassa
A surprising and touching documentary of a Finnish theater director who travels to Sri Lanka and gathers professional and amateur Sri Lankan actors to create a fine production of Bertolt Brecht's Herr Puntila and his servant Matti. 1995. 52 min. Video/C 4234

Hey Ram!: Genocide in the Land of Gandhi
Looks at the Gujarat riots of 2002 where more than 900 people, mostly Muslims, were killed as Hindu militants torched Muslim-run businesses and homes in apparent retaliation for the killing of a trainload of Hindu activists by Muslim extremists. Includes interviews with survivors and graphic scenes of victims. 2002. 25 min. Video/C MM158

The Hidden Face of Globalization: What the Corporations Do Not Want Us to Know
Examines the working and living conditions of garmet factory workers in Bangladesh, calling for an end to child labor and sweatshop abuses. 2003. 34 min. Video/C MM996

The Hidden Story: A Quest for Women's Unrecorded History.
Presents the stories of four peasant women from different parts of India. From forest women to desert women to dalit women--the documentary explores the multiple roles of women in rural India. These women, hidden from history, language, and representation, narrate their stories of struggles, of hardships, and collective achievements. Conceived as a first person narrative, the documentary attempts an exploratory journey and dialogue between the filmmakers and the four women, who in many ways define their lives and selves through an evocation of dreams, memories, myths, and legends. (1996?) 58 min. Video/C 7155

Highway Courtesans
Examines the unusual custom of the Bachchara community in India which demands that the eldest daughter born to every family must work as a prostitute to support their entire household. Known as a Khilawadi, their positions are stronger than that of the male members of the community. Directed by Mystelle Brabbee Filmed in Central India from 1995 to 2004. 71 min. DVD 4508

Description from Woman Make Movies catalog
Catsoulis, Jeannette. "Highway Courtesans." New York Times, 12/1/2006, Vol. 156 Issue 53780, pE12,
Shelley Feldman; Karuna Morarji. "Highway Courtesans" Visual Anthropology; March 2007; Volume 20 No. 2 Pages 251 - 254 UC users only

Highway to Hell: Trafficking of Girls from Nepal to India
Examines the plight of Nepalese girls tricked into leaving home, often with the promise of marriage or legitimate employment, then sold to brothels in India. 2000. 38 min. Video/C 9738

Hindu Ascetics
A documentary illustrating the rituals and practices of India's holy men--sadhus, fakirs and yogi--including ecstatic dancing, meditation, and mind-over-body feats designed to develop the power of concentration. Film also examines the connection of the rituals of these ascetic eremites to ancient Hindu and Buddhist rituals. 1994. 1994. 44 min Video/C 4588

Hinduism.
Eighty percent of India's vast population follow the way of Hinduism, an ancient yet vibrant religion. This overview traces the history of Hinduism's development and reformation; spiritual concepts such as karma, dharma, and God as both one and many; the numerous Hindu scriptures and Hindu worship practices are explored. 1999. 29 min. Video/C 7043

Hinduism: The Elephant God.
A discussion of the major tenets, rituals and gods of Hinduism. Dist: Films Media Group. 1996. 19 min. Video/C 6110

Hinduism and Buddhism ( Wisdom of Faith; 1).
This program explores the two great religions to come from India. Huston Smith uncovers the mysteries of multiphonic chanting among Tibetan lamas and meditates 8 hours a day with a Zen master. Dist: Films Media Group. 1996. 58 min. Video/C 4581

History and Contemporary Politics in India
Professor Romila Thapar, Professor Emeritus of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India visited the University of California at Berkeley at the invitation of the Center for South Asia Studies and the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies to present two lectures in November 2002. The lecture held November 6, 2002 in the University of California at Berkeley's Sibley Auditorium was titled "History and Contemporary Politics in India".

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Holi.
Documents the Hindu harvest festival of Holi when Krishna's life is celebrated. This film brings the color and vitality of the festival to life as it is celebrated in the villages of the Vraj region of northern India between Delhi and Agra. The role of the Hindu deities is also discussed along with the significance of certain rituals as they pertain to Krishna's life. 1990. 57 min. Video/C 7044

Holi Hey!: A Festival of Love, Color, and Life.
An indepth examination of the annual North India Spring festival of Holi as celebrated in the city of Banaras (Varanasi, Kashi). The film dramatizes how once each year the festival unites neighborhoods, breaches the barriers of age, caste, social rank and religious affiliation and calls all to share in unity and merriment. A respected Banaras brahman provides commentary recounting several explanations for the Holi festival. 1996. 54 min. Video/C 5583

Home.
Filmed entirely in India, this film explores the ideas of homeland, identity and resettlement as seen through the choices and dreams of two women. An East Indian American woman, who immigrated to theUnited States as a college student, returns to India ten years later to work through the conflicts she experienced with her family and to come to an understanding and acceptance of her Indian identity. 1992. 37 min. Video/C 3236

Homecoming (Glasnost Film Festival; 8).
Veterans of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan returned home with unresolved feelings about a demoralizing and unpopular war. The first film to document the human impact of the Afghan war. 1987. 17 min. Video/C 1597

Hunza: The Legendary Land.
Presents the breath-taking beauty of the snow-capped mountains of the Karakoram Range and examines the architecture, folk culture, and traditions of the Wakhi and Burusho people of Hunza in Northern Pakistan. 1989. 38 min. Video/C 3736

I Am a Sufi, I Am a Muslim.
The program travels to India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Macedonia to explore exactly what is Sufism and observe how it is practiced in various parts of the world today. Among the many aspects of Sufism featured in the program are the whirling dervishes of Turkey, who find God through ecstasy; ecstatic fakirs in Macedonia, where there is a big revival in popular Sufism; and the vital role of music in Sufism in India and Pakistan. The program also features Nusrat Ali Khan, the most famous performer of Qawali music. Dist: Films Media Group. 1994. 52 min. Video/C 5174

Identity: The Construction of Selfhood.
Explores the gamut of modes in which identities are produced, circulated and consumed within the modern urban Indian culture. Traversing a multi-cultural terrain inhabited by Paul Klee, A. K. Ramanujan, popular television commercials, the writings of riot-affected children, Michel Foucault, and poet Sant Kabir, this film is an invitation to examine the praxis of identity as a site of resistance and change. 1994. 20 min. PAL format Video/C 467

Images of India: The Land & People
This program explores India's diversity in her land, culture, religion, history, and daily life. Dist: Films Media Group. 1998. 32 min. Video/C 6108

In Gandhi's Footsteps: the Manibhai Desai/BAIF Story
Documentary on the life and philosophy of Manibhai Desai, 1920-1993, disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF), created to improve the socio-economic conditions of the rural poor of India. PAL format. 1999. 29 min. Video/C 7945

In Memory of Friends.
Documents the violence and terror in Punjab, India - a land torn apart by religious fundamentalists and a repressive government. Focuses on the unlikely martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, a young socialist hanged by the British in 1931 at the age of 23. 1990. 60 min. Video/C 3098

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

In the Name of God.
Discusses the conflict in Ayodhya (Faizabad, India) between Hinduism and Islam and the drive to build a Hindu temple to Ram where a mosque currently exists. 1992. 97 min. Video/C 2612

Incarnate Buddha Kings of the Dragon Country: Buddhism in Bhutan.
The focus of this presentation is on the development of Buddhism in Bhutan, which shown to be an integral part of the history of that country. 1991. 37 min. Video/C 2470

India. (Emerging Powers; 2)
Examines India's transformation from socialism to capitalism, from poverty to prosperity. Looks at India's liberalization program, large industrial base, nuclear energy program, and market reforms. Includes interviews with entrepreneurs such as Abdul Rehman, who makes satellite dishes, and Arya Bhattacherjee, founder of India's first computer chip design company and a tour of Bajaj Auto, India's largest scooter maker and a visit to the Bombay Stock Exhange. 1996. 50 min. Video/C 4305

India After Independence.
This program covers the anxious years since India became independent in 1947: the rioting and bloodshed of the first few weeks of independence; Gandhi's assassination and its aftermath; India's invastion of Portuguese Goa and clash with Chinese forces along the northeast border; the death of Nehru; the war in Kashmir; the accession of Indira Gandhi; the creation of Bangladesh; violence by and against Sikhs; the events at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the assassination of Indira Gandhi. 1990. 21 min. Video/C 4582

India Cabaret.
Examines the rules and double standards of India's patriarchal society. Focuses on a group of female strippers who work in a nightclub in the suburbs of Bombay and the customers who lead traditional family lives. Comparisions are drawn between the lives of the cabaret dancers and those of the "virtuous Indian wife." Film concludes as one of the dancers leaves the cabaret life to marry and become "respectable". 1986. 60 min. Video/C 2568

Nair, Mira. "India Cabaret: Reflections and Reactions." Discourse: Journal for Theoretical Studies in Media and Culture, vol. 8. 1986-1987 Fall-Winter. pp: 58-71.

India: Defying the Crown(Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict)
In 1930, Indian nationalists were impatient with British foot-dragging on promises to move India toward self-rule, and appointed Mohandas Gandhi to lead "the final struggle for freedom." Relying on nonviolent methods he developed in South Africa, Gandhi empowered millons who followed his example and his campaign of civil disobedience swept the country, forcing the British to admit that their regime was losing control. Dist: Films Media Group. 2000. 30 min. Video/C 7373

India, Environment & Industry. (Geographical Eye Over Asia)
India's fast economic growth is creating pressures on the environment that are hard to resist. This program looks at the Dehra Dun Valley, where the mining of limestone for steel production has led to hazardous environmental pollution. Will the development in Dehra Dun be a model for the future? Can India afford to protect the quality of its environment? Can it afford not to? Dist: Films Media Group. 1996. 20 min. Video/C 4585

India, Farming & Development. (Geographical Eye Over Asia)
Explores the changes in traditional farming in India by examining the case of a farmer and his family who live in the Trivandrum District of Kerala in the south of India. Here, farmers are moving away from the traditional cultivation of rice, to grow cash crops like spices and pineapples. The reasons are complex, but provide a fascinating insight into understanding farming in India. Dist: Films Media Group. 1996. 20 min. Video/C 4586

India: From Moghuls to Independence.
Covers the history of India from the time of Genghis Khan's first extension of his domain beyond China, through the Mogul Empire to independence from the British Empire. 1990. 42 min. Video/C 4578

India: Holy Cow
Women filmakers travel to India to find women who revel in their country's spiritual fabric and ethic of giving back, among them a cop who tempers rifle practice with meditation, a former journalist battling the sex trade in Mumbai, the first Indian woman to summit Everest, a labor union organizer, and a woman percussionist. c2001. 54 min. Video/C 8524

India: The Empire of the Spirit (Legacy.).
Ancient India is with us today in the living tradition of the Hindu religion, the basis of Indian culture. India has kept true to its ancient tradition of non-violence and spiritual search, even as it became part of the modern world. 1991. 57 min Video/C 3018

India Inhales. (Life; 12)
Every day in India, another 55,000 children start smoking. This film explores the cynicism of the major global tobacco companies' campaigns in India with particular reference to the largest firm in India, ITC Limited. It also looks at the work of activists who have pledged to try to stop them -- and to halt the soaring increase in cancer cases in India that result from smoking. c2000. 24 min. Video/C 7772

India: The Little Serfs
This program spotlights the exploitation of children inIndia as bond slaves in the rug-weaving, bangle-making, quarrying, and gemstone-cutting industries and the measures being taken to eradicate this practice. Dist: Films Media Group. c2000. 45 min. Video/C 7840

India: The Struggle for Independence: A History of India From the Moguls to the End of the British Empire
From the rise of the Moghul empire under Babur in 1526 to the setting of the sun on the British Raj in 1948, this program surveys four centuries of history during which India slowly but decisively shook off foreign rule. Dist: Films Media Group. 1999. 30 min Video/C 7033

India, The Textile Industry. (Geographical Eye Over Asia)
Dist: Films Media Group.1996. 20 min. Video/C 4584

India: The Turmoils of the Century.
This documentary film traces the history of the past 100 years of the Indian subcontinent. The film chronicles Ghandi's independence movement, World War II with the subsequent British withdrawal, and the partitioning of India and Pakistan in 1947. It details the religious riots and pogroms that followed and continue to plague such regions as Kashmir, Punjab, Assam and Sri Lanka. It follows the political fortunes of the Nehru and Bhutto families. In addition to detailing internal politics, the film also shows the role of India and Pakistan with regard to the Soviet Union and China. 1994. 120 min Video/C 3961

India: The Untouchables: The Small Secret of India
Today it is illegal in India to discriminate against Dalits, which literally means "the oppressed," the term now commonly used to refer to India's former untouchables. Despite the legal abolition of untouchability a half-century ago, they continue to be the target of systematic discrimination and comprise a highly disproportionate percentage of India's illiterate, landless and jobless population. Dalits number 260 million Hindus, making caste discrimination one of the world's biggest human rights issues. The film describes several examples of caste discrimination and also discusses the landlord-sponsored militia, Ranbir Sena's Army, which is attacking agricultural laborers and their families, all of them Dalits. The Ranbir Sena says the Dalits will be targets unless they cease their agitation for better pay and land and repudiate the Naxhalites. These are Maoist armed-activists who have gained a following in parts of Bihar by assisting agricultural workers in organizing and defending themselves from landlord violence. Produced and directed by Yorgos Avgeropoulos. 2006. 57 min. DVD 8685

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

India: Working to End Child Labor. (What in the World? People of the Developing Nations)
This documentary follows the lives of 5 child laborers in India: Bala (11) and Rama (9), stone cutters; an 8 year old girl who makes incense sticks; a 7 year old girl who works 10 hours a day in the poppy fields and a 10 year old boy who was pulled out of school to tend cattle. Also tells of the work of political science professor Shanta Sinha's program that rescues children from jobs and places them in a special school program. The film makes a strong case that child labor increases poverty levels. Dist: Films Media Group. 2004. 26 min. DVD 5450

Indian Classical Music.
Compilation of performances featuring some of the finest musicians of India: Ali Akbar Khan, Alla Rakha, Amjad Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Ravi Shankar. Each a supreme virtuoso of his instrument, the artists perform ragas that illustrate the range, scope and texture of Indian classical music. Dist: Films Media Group. 1994. 85 min. Video/C 4583

Indian Journeys
Layer upon layer of archaeological ruins in India mirror its history of religious strife. Historian William Dalrymple guides viewers through the remains of edifices in the City of Delhi that played a role in religious confrontations. He shows where the Muslim Turks from Afghanistan built their mosque from the ruins of Hindu temples. Hindus and Muslims were always at war with only Sufism, a mystical religion of Persia, able to span the two religions. Currently the BJP, the right wing Hindu Nationalist party, threatens warfare against the Muslims. Will India be able to survive in an age of fundamentalism? 1999. 52 min. Video/C 7543

An Indian Pilgrimage--Kashi
Presents a documentary on a pilgrimage to the sacred city of Kashi on the Ganges River. Follows two Telegu-speaking brahmans and their wives who come from south India to perform classical ancestor rites. Shows some of the tenets of Hinduism as the pilgrims are instructed in the correct performance of the rites by a brahman Telegu-speaking priest. 1980. 30 min. Video/C 4263

An Indian Pilgrimage--Ramdevra.
Presents a documentary on a folk pilgrimage to Ramdevra, India. Follows a group of Hindus from Bombay to the grave of Ramdev, a medieval hero and saint of Rajasthan. Shows ways in which the Hindu pilgrims are free to worship, their collective offering at Ramdev's grave, and their interactions with other pilgrims, shoppers, preachers, hawkers, and devotional singers who throng the festival. Devotional songs telling the stories of Ramdev feature prominently in film. 1990. 26 min Video/C 3773

Indus to Independence: A Journey Through Indian History.
Beginning with the Stone Age, this program unfolds India's past era by era, covering the Indus Valley civilization, the Vedic Age, the Mauryan empire, the Gupta Age, the southern kingdoms, the Muslim invasion, the Mogul and Maratha empires, the British Raj, and independence. The impact of India's diverse religions -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity -- is also explored. Dist: Films Media Group. c2000. 34 min. Video/C 7835

Industrial Greenbelt: A War on Pollution
Profiles a successful industrial greenbelt reforestation project, a joint effort of BAIF Development Research Foundation and National Organic Chemical Industries Limited (NOCIL) of India. PAL format. 1999. 17 min. Video/C 7944

Islam and Feminism
Film examines the inequities in Pakistan's Islamic law, which does not distinguish among rape, adultery andfornication. Under this law, the testimony of twowomen is valued as equal to that of one man. A rapevictim can be charged under Islamic law with havinghad extramarital sex. This report examines these contradictions, and introduces efforts of women's organizations to battle the severediscrimination which Pakistani women must endure. 1991. Video/C 3051

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Islami Inqilab: Marahil-o Madarij.
A speech delivered by a Sunni religiopolitical leader from Pakistan, Israr Ahmad, concerning the different stages of an Islamic revolution with special reference to Pakistan. In Urdu. 1987. 168 min. Video/C 4730

It Takes a Child: Craig Kielburger's Story: A Journey into Child Labour
In 1995 when child labor activist Iqbal Masih was killed in Pakistan, that event changed Craig Kielburger's life forever. He went on a seven-week trip to South Asia to find out everything he could about the lives of child laborers. What he learned has turned him into a passionate, articulate, and incredibly effective advocate on their behalf. With a group of his peers Craig has founded "Free the Children," a children's organization that now has 10, 000 members in 20 countries. c1998. 56 min. Video/C 8118

It Takes a Village. (Life; 35)
In 1991 a cyclone struck Bangladesh. What was needed was a real experiment in community participation, one in which the villagers could decide what kind of health services were necessary and then take it upon themselves to facilitate those services. This segment looks at the construction of an experimental community health care center in Chakaria. c2002 23 min. Video/C 9845

Jag Mandir : the eccentric private theatre of the Maharana of Udaipur (Jag Mandir: Das excentrische Privattheater des Maharadscha von Udaipur)
The third film in Vol. 4 of a 6 volume collection of documentary and short films by Werner Herzog. Filmed at the Jag Mandir, the Maharana's island palace situated on India's Lake Pichola, a building that's slowly sinking. The occasion? A grand spectacle of folk dancing and performance: 500 performers speaking 23 languages dressed in luxuriant costumes. It's a celebration of folk traditions that, like the palace, may soon disappear. A film by Werner Herzog. 1991. DVD 6504

Jagriti (The Awakening).
This film is about Jagriti, a school for the children of Motia Khan, a slum in the poorest district of Delhi. Although set in India, this film is a case study of the political roadblocks, red tape, and corruption often encountered by samaritans in poor areas all around the world. 1991. 25 min. Video/C 3043

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Jardhar Diary
Documentary television program on the protests by people in India against the destruction of thousands of acres of forests in the mountains of the Himalayas. These villagers are willing to give up their lives to save their homes. In addition the film talks about the role the women are taking in these activities and how they have become the backbone of the economy of the region. Written & directed by Krishnendu Bose. 2002. 29 min. Video/C MM860

Jalsah-yi am Haidarabad, 31 Aktubar.
In Urdu. An address at a large public gathering at Hyderabad, Pakistan, by the convenor of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQA), on organization striving for the sociopolitical rights of immigrants from India. 1988. 158 min. PAL format. Video/C 3907

Jama Masjid Street Journal.
An early film by Mira Nair, this is her personal record of street life in the Moslem community surrounding the Jama Masjid, or Great Mosque, in the old city of Delhi, India. 1979. 20 min. Video/C 4724

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Jari Mari: Of Cloth and Other Stories
Jari Mari is a sprawling slum colony adjacent to Mumbai's international airport. Its narrow lanes house hundreds of small sweatshops where women and men work, without the right to organise. Their existence is on the edge as their illegal dwellings could be demolished any time by the airport authorities and jobs have to be found anew everyday. This documentary explores the lives of the people of Jari Mari and records the many changes in the nature of Mumbai's workforce over the past two decades. 2001. 74 min. PAL format. DVD 1826

Jhansi Ki Rani.
A docu-drama (36 episodes on 9 videotapes) of the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai, the 19th century queen of Jhansi known as Manu to her friends, who led her armies into battle against the British East India Company during the 1857 rising known in Britain as "The Mutiny." The film chronicles Lord Dalhousie's annexation policies which had forced a treaty upon the aged King Gangadhar Rao. The high priest who controled the throne and who opposed the signing of the treaty, persuaded the king to marry Manu, making her the rightful successor to the king instead of the scheming Sadashiv Rao who was on the side of the British. Much of the film consists of battle scenes in this spectacular account of one of the best-known Indian historicals. Originally produced in the 1990's by Sahara Indian T.V. Network in 36 episodes of 26 min. each; ca. 936 min. total running time. Video/C 6981:1-9

Jivana ka eka aura nama Vishnu Prabhakara.
A documentary on the Hindi author, Vishnu Prabhakar including conversations with Padma Sacadeva and others. PAL format. In Hindi. 1997. 60 min. Video/C 6177

Join the Doyens as They Talk About Their Companies' Journey to the Top League
Looks at firms in India and the strategies of their CEO's in bringing their companies into the top ranks of successful Industries. Here they share their visions, ideas and strategic insights on competing in the global marketplace. Participants: Narayan Murthy, Rahul Bajaj, Ajay Piramal, Subhash Chandra, Deepak Parekh, Sumantra Ghoshal, Gita Piramal. Based on "Managing radical changes by Prof. Sumantra Ghoshal, Gita Piramal, and Chris Barlett". c2005. 357 min. DVD 8920

Kaal Chakra.
In Hindi. A dramatization which depicts a struggle between police and gundas. 1987. 148 min. Video/C 3900

Kala Pani.
Feature film, portraying the calamities that beset a jobless young man, Aslam, and his 5 year old brother Pappoo. The day after their mother's death, Pappoo wanders around in search of food, is hit by a car, and is taken away by the car owner for treatment. Meanwhile, Aslam marries his ailing teacher's daughter, but they are soon evicted from the house by the landlord for non-payment of rent. Aslam's wife is kidnapped and killed by a gangster, Silawar, but through the latter's machinations, Aslam is proved guilty and is transported for life. His daughter is also kidnapped by Dilawar and is brought up and trained as a dancer. On getting this news, Aslam escapes from jail, kills Dilawar and his men, and meets his daughter, but is rounded up by the police party, headed by his brother, Pappoo, and is sentenced to death. In Urdu. 1980. 151 min. Video/C 3919

Kalakshetra.
Portrays the daily life of Kalakshetra, India's finest center for the performing arts, showing students learning from India's leading exponent of music and dance, Rukmini Devi. Culminates in a spectacular exposition of dance drama. 1986. 50 min. Video/C 7268

Kamala and Raji
Two working women in Ahmedabad, India, try to organize their fellow workers. Kamala is an organizer for the Self-Employed Women's Association and Raji is a representative of the vegetable sellers. 1990. 46 min. Video/C 1786

Kahankar, Ahankar: Story Maker, Story Taker.
Film brings together a selection of the legends and paintings of the Warlis, and writings about these Adivasis who live close to Bombay. These stories represent their history and world-view but outsiders; the Portuguese, the Marathas, and the British have all tried to obliterate this history and wisdom. The works here of the outsiders about the Warlis represent this process. By bringing together these disparate discourses, this film aspires to critique these mythologies and to read between the lines. 1995. 38 min. PAL format Video/C 4897

Karnar Mitingz: 6 Tarikhi Karnar Mitingz se Altaf Husain ka Khitab
In Urdu. Addresses at corner meetings in Karachi, Pakistan, prior to the 1988 general elections, by the convenor of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQA), on organization striving for the sociopolitical rights of immigrants from India. 1988. 178 min. Video/C 3912

Kashmir: A Kashmiri Viewpoint
An eleven-part series of interviews with politicians, journalists, militants and ordinary Kashmiris about the separatist conflict that began in 1989. [1999?] 11 tapes: 120 min. each. Video/C 7679

Kashmir: Valley of Despair
In the valley of Kashmir which is occupied by both India and Pakistan, the Kashmiri people want an independent, autonomous state, which India refuses to grant. India fears that if Kashmir gains sovereignty, other ethnic minorities may also demand independence. The Kashmiri rebels, backed by Pakistan and Indian government provides a historic analysis of the political, religious, and ethnic causes of the ongoing Kashmir conflict. Dist: Films Media Group.1998. 44 min. Video/C 7035

Kasthuri: A Documentary.
Kasthuri, a 21-year-old film actress working in Madras, India, explains traditional Indian film themes and contemporary influences. As the filmakers follow her about her daily routines of rehearsals, visits with friends and shopping with her mother, they expose the paradox between her public and private life. Although Kasthuri is very successful and well exposed to Western culture, she chooses not to challenge the traditional values of her culture, but is content to have her parents arrange a marriage for her to the man of their choosing. 1993. 30 min. Video/C 4925

Khuda ki Basti.
In Urdu. Play on social problems created by wayward urchins in the slum areas of a metropolitan society in Pakistan. 4 videocassettes. 1988. Video/C 3903

Khushboo ka Safar: PTV Musical Programme.
In Urdu. Modern Urdu songs lyp-synched by a variety of reputed television artists. Performer: Himayat Ali Shaier. Gulbahar Bano, Muhammad Ali Sheikhi, Tina Sani, Afshan Ahmad, and others. 1980. 335 min. Video/C 3908

Kill or Cure?(Life; 5)
Travels to India, whose pharmaceutical industry has been a leader in producing low cost drugs for the developing world for over a decade. Now, India's $4.5 billion pharmaceutical industry is at a crossroads following a new law introduced there in January 2005. TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) is an agreement drawn up by the World Trade Organization between 1986 and 1994 to ensure intellectual property rights are respected within international trade. The government says that despite the new law, they are committed to supplying drugs at an affordable price. But those actually working in the health system have doubts. Directed by Reena Mohan. 2005. 26 min. DVD 8392

Bullfrog Films catalog description

A Killer Bargain
An indictment of the corporate irresponsibility of various Indian textile companies, who expose their workers to dangerous chemicals (long since banned in the developed world) and pollute their surrounding environments. Consumers who remain unaware of the conditions under which the goods they buy are produced must hold companies accountable. Director, Tom Heinemann. 2006. 57 min. DVD 8482

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Kings, Lovers and Thieves
Documentary shows a filmic representation of a rare behind-the-scenes look at India's improvisational and often bawdy form of folk opera, Nautanki and Khyal. These forms of travelling roadside folk theater unfold well known stories. 1995. 35 min. Video/C MM879

Knowing Her Place.
An Indian woman looks at her life, her marriage, and her role in contemporary society both in India and the United States. A videotape by Indu Krishnan. 1990. 40 min. Video/C 2198

Description from Women Make Movies catalog

Kumar Talkies.
Documents the impact of the movie theater Kumar Talkies on the residents of the northern Indian town of Kalpi by juxtaposing the reality of Kalpi, where poverty affects all facets of life, with the world of rebellion and romance on the silver screen. The film explores not only the meaning of cinema in Kalpi, but also the status of film in all of India, especially the relationship between Bollywood and its audience. Produced, directed and edited by Pankaj Rishi Kumar.1998. 76 min. Video/C 7898

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Ladakh.
Ladakh, a Tantric Buddhist Shangri-la nestled high in the Himalayas, was isolated from the modern world until the mid-70s. To live amongst the energies of gods and demons, villagers rely on both a scholarly monk and the shaman. Film reveals the ancient patterns of Ladakhi life--courtship, family affairs, faith, and the struggle to make a living in a rugged land. 1992. 86 min. Video/C 4529

Lady of Gingee
Describes celebrations of a Draupadi festival in two villages in northern Tamilnadu (South Indoa) in May and June, 1986. Shows the most prominent events of the festival in Melacceri, including episodes of Terukuttu ("village" or "street") dramas, and village participation in fire-walking. Highlights from the festival are supplemented by interviews with key participants in the celebrations. 1988. 113 min. Video/C 4262

Lage Jiva Ghar Ghar: A Document on Women and Shelter.
Traces the differential socialization of the girl child in India, which is geared towards preparation for marriage, rather than for earning an independent livelihood. It highlights the skewed access to ownership of property in a patriarchal society which denies women their basic right to shelter, forcing them to continue living in abusive marriages. Also examinines the limitation of alternative sources of shelter, such as working women's hostels, shelter homes for women in distress and homes for the aged. 199? 44 min. PAL format. Video/C 466

A Lake View.
Examines the environmental problems resulting from the deposition of wastes from nearby residential houses into the Dhanmondi Lake which was excavated in the 60's as part of the Dhaka Urban Development Program. PAL format. In Bengali. 1997. 16 min. Video/C 6176

A Land Tilled with Blood
A documentary on the activities of the banned Naxalite Organization operating in Bihar. (On same tape with Manipur, Nowhere to Hide) 1996. 35 min. Video/C 5121

Larger Than Life: India's Bollywood Film Culture
This program travels through the landscape of Indian cinema, providing contrasts and comparisons with its counterpart in the West. Interviews with Shahrukh Kahn and Manisha Koirala examine the pressures of Indian film acting. Shot in Bombay, Andhra Pradesh, and other locations in India, winter 2000-winter 2002. Dist: Films Media Group. 57 min. DVD 3745

Learning Bharata Natyam
Noted Indian dancer-scholar Dr. Kanak Rele demonstrates Bharata Natyam dance techniques and training. PAL format. 1999. 56 min. Video/C 7928

Learning to Read and Rewrite: A Document on Tribal Education in Thane District.
Discusses the reasons for the persistence of adivasi illiteracy despite the efforts of the state and welfare agencies through formalized education. Identifies the educational components implicit in the action programs of some voluntary groups in order to make a case for an education that places literacy in the context of cultural identity. 1990. 60 min. PAL format Video/C 464

The Legacy of Malthus. (Developing Stories)
Discusses Malthus's theories of population and the causes of poverty. As film contrasts the 19th century poor in Scotland with today's poor in India, it takes on the international population "establishment", challenging the entrenched view that overpopulation alone is responsible for poverty and environmental destruction. 1994. 50 min. Video/C 3874

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

Lesser Humans.
An investigative documentary on the harsh realities of the lives and livelihood of the Bhangis living in Gujarat, India. PAL format. 1998. 59 min. Video/C 7923

Life and Death of a Dynasty.
For most of the past half-century, modernIndia has been a democracy ruled by three charismatic individuals -- Jawaharal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi. The film explores the lives of these three leaders and analyzes the driving forces behind their personal and national ambitions. 1991. 90 min. Video/C 2148

Lines in the Dust(City Life; 20)
A segment from a series documenting the effects of globalization on individuals and coummunities around the world. Part 20: In a small village in northern Ghana, a group of men and women discuss their daily chores with the help of a chart they've drawn in the dust. This village is part of a program called Reflect, which aims to reach the 900 million illiterate adults across the world. Reflect uses participants' own knowledge and experience as starting points for learning. Also looks at this program in India, and how it not only teaches people to read, write, and work with numbers, the participants are also changing ideas about men's and women's separate workloads, standing up for their rights, earning more money for their families, and becoming self-assured.c2001. 30 min. Video/C 8948

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Litigating Disaster.
The worst and deadliest chemical disaster of all time occurred in 1984 in Bhopal, India. Vast amounts of toxic gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory, killing thousands of people and poisoning hundreds of thousands of others. This film documents this tragedy and presents the legal evidence assembled against Union Carbide including never before seen documents and exclusive interviews with former Union Carbide officers. A film by Ilan Ziv. c2004. 58 min. DVD 5257

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Little Clay Cart.
A traditional Sanskrit play, written in 1400 by King Sudraka is performed by the Pomona College Department of Theatre and Dance, directed by Betty Bernhard and Kailash Pandya. c1994. 115 min. Video/C 7191

The Loom (Saacha)
A film about the poet Narayan Surve, the painter Sudhir Patwardhan, and the city of Mumbai (Bombay). Explores the work of Surve and Patwardhan, and their involvement in the Left movement, and looks at Mumbai as the origin and centre of the working class movement in India. Directed by Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar. 2001. 49 min. DVD 8918
Lost Generations. (Life; 24)
Maternal poverty and malnutrition have increased dramatically in India since the early '90's. Low birth weight babies from malnourished mothers grow up to become malnourished themselves and in turn give birth to more low birth weight babies. This film explores what can be done to break the cycle of poverty and ill-health that condemns whole populations to sub-standard lives. c2000. 24 min. Video/C 7784

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

Loving Krishna.
Explores the worship of Krishna in India within families and in large celebrations including the Celebration of Krishna's Birth and the Chariot Journey of Krishna. A film by Allen Moore and Akos Ostor. 1985. 40 min. Video/C 5836

Luv Kush: Ramayan Uttar Kand.
Sequel to the televison version of the ancient Indian classic, Ramayan. PAL format. In Hindi-Urdu. 1989. 8 videocassettes, 521 min. Video/C 3952

M. Gopalakrishna Adiga
A presentation on the life and works of the Kannada author, M. Gopala Krishna Adiga, b. 1918. 1998. 60 min. PAL format. Video/C 6958

Made in India.
portrait of the women's organization in India, called SEWA, that holds to the simple yet radical belief that poor women need organizing, not welfare. Inspired by the political, economic and moral model advocated by Gandhi, SEWA has grown since it founding to a membership of 217,000 and its bank now has assets of over $4 million. SEWA is at its core a trade union for the self-employed that offers union membership to d) the illiterate women who sell vegetables, pick up scraps for recycling from the streets and engage in small cottage industries. A film by Patricia Plattner. 1998. 52 min. Video/C 7083

Women Make Movies catalog description

Magra Mewar Vikas Sanstha.
Evaluation of efforts made by Magra Mewar Vikas Sanstha, a coordinating voluntary agency of village committees in Rajasthan that have taken up sustainable development of their common property resources based on the principles of contributory voluntary labor and equitable distribution of produce. This film evaluates these efforts in the context of on-going ecological degradation of the central Aravallis and governmental initiatives to remedy the situation. 1990. 68 min. PAL format Video/C 472

Mahabharat: India's Greatest Epic.
This Hindu classic tells the story of the descendants of King Bharata, two families who lived in northern India, perhaps about 1200 B.C. The Pandava brothers lose their kingdom to their Kaurava cousins and engage in a mighty struggle to win it back. Many lives are lost in the conflict. The story illustrates the futility of war. Some of the heroes are taken from history, and some represent human ideals and gods.
1987.
PAL format, 47 videocassettes, ca. 3760 min.: some cassettes in Hindi only; some in Hindi with English subtitles. Video/C 3731
VHS format, 24 videocassettes, ca. 3899 min.: in Hindi with English subtitles. Video/C 5929

The Mahabharata.
Directed by Peter Brook. The world of the Mahabharata is of profound storytelling power and spiritual import; within it a civilization rises, falls, and is reborn. This set contains "The Game of Dice", "Exile in the Forest", and "The War." c1989. 328 min. DVD 8478; DVD 1697; also on vhs Video/C 2194 [Note: DVD 8478 is 13 minutes longer than DVD 1697 and includes a "making of" documentary]

Mahabharata Katha. 1, Draupadi Svayamvara.
A film presentation of the story of the Hindu religious text the Mahabharata. In Hindi. 1994. Video/C 4552

Maharajah Burger
The film takes a wry look at the cultural confrontation of East and West, as reflected in attitudes towards the cow. In India, where the cow is revered, when MacDonalds opened up in New Delhi featuring the Maharajah Burger, there was outrage at this affront. To many Indians it is a symbol of Western cultural imperialism--Western greed undermining traditional values in India. 1997. 50 min. Video/C 6530

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

Mahatma Gandhi: The Great Soul Lives
Traces the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi from London, where he first studied law; to South Africa, where he established his first ashram; to India, where he worked tirelessly for independence. More than a biography, this documentary seeks to understand the essence of Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy, which guided India in its struggle for independence and continues to inspire others in their efforts to achieve freedom. Dist: Films Media Group. 2000. 60 min. Video/C 7034

Mahatma Gandhi, Soul Force.
Examines Mahatma Ghandi's philosophy of nonviolence and his quest for Indian self-respect and independence from British rule. Includes archival footage. 1978. 30 min. Video/C 833

Male Degula: Temple on the Hill
A documentary film on the life of Kannada poet Pu. Ti. Narasimhachar, born 1905. PAL format. [2000.] 35 min. Video/C 7927

Manifestations of Shiva.
Shows the worship of the Hindu god Shiva on a personal level, through dance, art, music and ritual. Without narration, it aims to convey a feeling for the events represented, through observation of those experiencing the events, rather than through didactic explanation. Presented by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to compliment the exhibition Manifestations of Shiva. 1985. 60 min. Video/C 4541

Manipur, Nowhere to Hide
tells the inside story of the Northeast Indian state, Manipur, and its fragmention by insurgency. (On same tape with A Land Tilled with Blood) 1996. 41 min. Video/C 5121

Mardon Wali Baat.
In Hindi. Historical film based on the activities of Thugs in pre-independence India. 1987. 172 min. Video/C 3901

Marriages in Heaven
Arranged marriages have been an important aspect of traditional Indian culture since ancient times, and they are still common today. This illuminating documentary explores the ways in which globalization and modernization are affecting young people and changing the traditions of marriage among Indians living both in India and in America. This documentary was produced in the Community Documentary Workshop of the Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts Department of San Francisco State University. 2000. 27 min. DVD 6441

Megacities
A film in twelve chapters which tells the tales of people from Bombay, Mexico City, Moscow and New York, who are all struggling for daily survival, with ingenuity, intelligence and dignity. Focuses on the lives of Shankar, the Bioscope Man; Modesto, the chicken feet vendor; Baba Khan, the paint recycler; Nestor, the trash scavenger; street kids Oleg, Borya, Kolya and Misha; Cassandra, the performer; Larissa, the crane driver and Toni, the hustler. 1998. 90 min. Video/C 8920

Memories of Milk City.
Ahmedabad, in the Gujarat regionof India, is a troubled city. Once home to the ideas of Rajiv Gandhi, it has more recently suffered appaling communal violence. This film is a powerful but elegant lament to the city that once was. 1991. 10 min. Video/C 3055

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Meeras
A documentary on the history of Muslim rule in South Asia, 712-1857, and the Pakistan movement through 1947. In Urdu. PAL format. 1988. 150 min. Video/C 3909

A Migrant's Heart. (Human Geography; 8)
An English actor whose parents came from India and then migrated to East Africa and finally England returns to visit New Delhi, India, to seek his roots, and to work through ethnic identity problems which can result when one is caught between two worlds. 1996. 27 min. Video/C 4248

Minorities in Pakistan
Documentary on freedom of religious activities and rights of minorities in Pakistan. 19 min. 1999? PAL format. Video/C 9504

Mirat ul Uroos.
In Urdu. Television play. Performer: Arifa Siddiqui, Irsa Ghazal, Pervaiz Raza, Anjum Ayaz, Attiya Sharaf, Tamana Begum Tani Begum. 1980. Video/C 3913

Mithila Painters: Five Village Artists from Madhubani, India.
Interviews with five Indian painters who live in Mithila and practice the ancient folk painting unique to the North Indian region of Madhubani. They display their works and explain their painting techniques and the folklore and stories which inspire their art. In Tamil with English voiceover.1994. 40 min. Video/C 3381

Modern Brides: Arranged Marriage in South India.
Describes two middle-class brahman marriages in Mysore, South India in 1983. Through interviews with the brides, the grooms, and other members of their families, the film represents varying views on marriage, family loyalty, and family status. 1985. 30 min. Video/C 3378

Muft Bazar.
Report on a unique free bazar, organized and arranged for the benefit of the needy by the Muhajir Qaum Movement (MQM), an organization striving for the sociopolitical rights of the immigrants from India who opted for Pakistan in 1947 and settled mostly in the urban areas of Sind, Pakistand; includes glimpses of the organization's other social activities. 1989. 160 min. Video/C 3911

Mulk Raj Anand: A Writer and His Times
Documentary on the life and work of the indic author, Mulk Raj Anand. Also includes the author reading from his works and an interview. PAL format. 2001. 22 min. Video/C 9414

Munni
Looks at the life of a young girl in the Indian village of Mithila. Tells how changes in roles and attitudes have come to women there through ancient traditions of painting, but Munni learns the old ways from her grandmother and the new from her aunt. Her daily life exhibits the values of family and cultural continuity that are her legacy. 1990. 29 min. Video/C 4264

Mutthi Bhar Chawal.
In Urdu. A Social drama set in Pakistan. Performer: Nadeem, Sangeeta, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din, Shela Gul, Sari, Najma Begum, Romana, Kamal Irani. 1980. 140 min. Video/C 3914

A Musical Tradition in Banaras.
Centered around the activities and approach to music of Panchu Maharaj, a classical drummer and musical instructor at Banaras Hindu University. Viewer is invited into the home of Prof. Maharaj, to view private aspects of Indian family life including their religious customs. Includes practice sessions in the home where Indian music is played in the casual atmosphere in which it is most frequently heard. In Tamil with English voiceovers. 1990. 40 min. Video/C 3778

My Journey, My Islam
Through interviews with Muslim women in Australia, India, Pakistan and Britain this film documents how they reconcile and interpret the requirements of their faith and the obligations of Western culture. Although the film focuses on the Hijab (veil) and the Burhka, it raises larger issues and questions surrounding identity, women's rights and their place in Muslim society. Includes an interview with former Pakitani premier, Benazir Bhutto who speaks of her experiences as a Muslim woman and how her beliefs in Islam were by no means a hindrance to her career. c1999. 56 min. Video/C 8133

My Mother India
Portrait of the filmmaker's family, her Sikh father and Australian mother, and her upbringing in New Delhi. "What begins as a gently humorous portrait unfolds into a complex commentary on the social, political, and religious events of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 which tore this family apart. This is a powerful story of love and hate, exile and belonging, loss of identity and return to faith." Written and directed by Safina Uberoi; produced by Penelope McDonald. 2001. 52 min. Video/C 9783

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

Naata: The Bond
Friends and activists, Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, work with neighborhood peace committees in Dharavi, Mumbai to promote conflict resolution through the collective production and use of visual media. Korde and Khan are both long-time residents of Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, and both first-generation migrants to the city. When the deadly riots of 1992-93 tore the city apart, Korde and Khan were moved to act, working to change both the negative perception of Dharavi and erase religious and ethnic divisions. 2003. 45 min. DVD 8944

Nadera Nimai (Nimai of Nadia)
Film portrayal of the Indian religious reformer, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, from his birth to his taking of sannyasa (the renounced order) at the age of twenty-four. Originally produced as motion picture in Bengal, India, 1959. Inserted at the end of film: 4 minute documentary titled "The voice of the second generation," which documents the 1993 International Gurukula Reunion, held in Atlanta, New Vrindaban (W. Va.), and Los Angeles. 70 min. Video/C 6948

Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night
A documentary about the outsourcing of American jobs to India. From the perspective of an Indian immigrant living in the United States, using humor and satire to capture the lives of Indian telemarketers who undergo voice and accent training to speak to U.S. customers with an American accent. A complex look at life as per Eastern Standard Time in India. A film by Sonali Gulati. 2005. 27 min. DVD 5383

Women Make Movies catalog description

A Narmada Diary.
Documents five years of activities by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (the Save Narmada Movement) which has spearheaded the agitation against the construction of the Sardar Sarover Dam in India. The people of the Narmada Valley, with their insistence on non-violence and their determination to drown rather than be shifted off their land, have become a symbol of global struggle against unjust and unsustainable development. 1995. 60 min. Video/C 7894

First Run/Icarus catalog

Never Again?: Genocide Since the Holocaust
After the atrocities of World War II, the cry of conscience was "never again!" As this program demonstrates, that bitterly learned injunction went unheeded throughout much of the world. The chronicle of genocide continues with a look at Mao's purges in China, Cambodia under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, the Arab/Israeli conflict, border wars in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and killing in Central America. 2002. 57 min. Video/C 8744

New View New Eyes
An East Indian Canadian travels to India to meet her father's family. She finds that India is in no simple way her "home", yet she also can't hide behind the tourist's camera. Western representations of India are challenged as we see India through a weave of location imagery, music, poetry, conversation and journal entries. 1993. 49 min. Video/C 4254

Newstrack
Videotaped from the news program, India Today. Monthly subsciption from October 1990 through December 1995. Video/C 1820:1. [All shelved at NRLF: 1990:10 1990-1995:12]

First Run/Icarus catalog

Nilachale Mahaprabhu.
Film portrayal of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes as he revolutionized and respiritualized the Indian society. Depicts his life in Nilachal, Jagannath Puri from 1510 to 1534 during the reign of Gajapati Prataparudra Maharaj, King of Orissa. Originally produced as motion picture in Bengal, India, 1959. 79 min. Video/C 6949

Odhni: A Collective Exploration of Ourselves, Our Bodies.
A discussion by Indian women of different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences concerning what they have in common and the social and political empowerment of women in India. 1993. 23 min. PAL format Video/C 465

On the Road with the Red God Machhendranath
Captures the complex human elements behind the wheeled chariot festival of the deity Rato Machhendranath of the Kathmadu Valley, one of Asia's greatest ancient religious festivals. Instead of exotic idealised depictions of tradition, the film portrays the gritty reality of the festival where confict or solidarity can prevail, maping the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity. Directed and written by Kesang Tseten. 2005. 72 min. DVD 6712

Once This Land Was Ours.
A poetic documentary about women agriculture workers in India and their struggle to provide for their families. 1991. 19 min. Video/C 3359

One Hundred Years of Drought
Examines the causes of recurrent drought in Maharashtra. Demonstrates the extent to which drought is a man-made phenomenon, including a review of the impact of colonial rule and the famine policy, as well as the post-independence path of development which has resulted in deforestation, soil erosion and depletion of ground water reserves. Examines alternative approaches involving people's participation in integrated watershed management based on the principles of sustainable development. 1993. 21 min. PAL formatVideo/C 475

The Other Side of Outsourcing
What happens when the demands of the global economy with all of its excess baggage of Westernizing forces collides with the deeply held traditions of an age-old culture like India's? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman heads to the heart of the conflict and examines how this clash of cultures is affecting the everyday lives of Indian workers, many of them young people, who are caught in the middle. Learn how this noble, proud society is coping with a struggle unlike any it's ever faced: balancing the desire to benefit from the opportunities offered by the new world market with internal efforts to protect their cultural heritage from the eroding influence of American values. 2004. 50 min. DVD 3508

Outsourcing: White Collar Exodus
Contents: The death of distance -- A twist of the twine -- My job went to India and all I got was this lousy t-shirt -- Regulation -- Good-bye middle class -- Sushi and tulips -- There is only one constant: change. More than two million jobs have been outsourced from the U.S. to India since 2000. This documentary explores factors that encourage the outsourcing (U.S. laws, special training and cheap wages in India ...) and the impact the outsourcing has on both the U.S. and Indian workers. Analysts consider possible U.S. policy and natural economic responses to the outsourcing. Dist: Films Media Group. 2005. 50 min. DVD 4515

Painted Ballad of India.
Takes place in the desert village of Rajasthan, on the western side of North India. Examines the painting of horizontal scrolls. The camera follows the ballad singer as he begins with the tale of Pabuji. The themes of his songs vary from ancient legends to contemporary social and political problems. 1980. 30 min. Video/C 2376

Pakistan, Past and Present
Documentary on socio-cultural and geographical aspects of Pakistan. 1999? 20 min. PAL format. Video/C 9503

Panah.
A Pakistan television Urdu drama on the agonies and sufferings of Afghan refugees due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 1985. 90 min. Video/C 3800

Pandit Nehru: A Profile.
This film recounts the historic role played by Pandit Nehru, the first prime minister of an independent India. The film traces the development of his resistance to British rule and his socialist philosophy. It shows the mutal admiration