'Farmer suicides can't be stopped by curing depression'

Filmmaker Kinshuk Surjan speaks about his documentary on widows of farmers who died by suicide, Marching in the Dark, the research that went into the film, and more

- NAMRATA JOSHI

ARCHING in the Dark, Kinshuk Surjan's moving and inspiring documentary on the widows of farmers who died by suicide in Maharashtra, won accolades in several film festivals across the world. While focused on one of the young widows, Sanjeevani, it's about a group of rural women discovering inner strength, resilience, fun, laughter, and camaraderie in their shared loss and grief, getting healed in each other's company. While challenging their patriarchal universe, the women also aim at securing financial independence to ensure a brighter future for their children.

A film about empowerment through female solidarity, it is one of four Indian titles eligible in the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars. The other three are Nishtha Jain's Farming the Revolution, Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan's Nocturnes, and Anand Patwardhan's The World Is Family. A graphic designer turned filmmaker hailing from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Kinshuk Surjan is the son of the late Lalit Surjan, editor-in-chief of a prominent news daily.

He spoke to CE about his long journey into researching and shooting the film, collaborating with voices like Sanjeevani and challenging the stereotypical portrayals often seen in contemporary films.

Excerpts

Have you closely seen the reality that you have captured in the film?