5 reasons why India's Writing With Fire deserves the Oscar for Best Documentary

Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh watched with bated breath, their eyes glued to the TV set as the nominations for Oscars 2022 began being announced. For Best Documentary Feature, after Ascension, Attica, Flee and Summer of Soil, Writing With Fire found a mention. The documentary was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards.

Rintu and Sushmit's first feature, Writing with Fire, had made it to the Oscars. Rintu and Sushmit have been classmates since their journalism days at Jamia Milia Islamia. They have previously worked on three documentaries together - Miracle Water Village, Dilli and Timbuktu.

On Writing With Fire, the couple worked for three years (2016-2019). They helmed the writing, editing and direction themselves.

The documentary chronicles the journey of Dalit women in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, who work for a weekly newspaper, Khabar Lahariya. It shows the desire of these young Dalit woman who want to go digital from print in a tech-savvy world. The newspaper which started in 2002 is the only one that is run by Dalit women. It brings core issues of the people to the fore and questions the authority where needed.

What’s more interesting is that the documentary is the only Indian pick to make it to the Oscars. Surya’s highly acclaimed Jai Bhim and Mohanlal’s Marakkar couldn’t make the cut for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film respectively.

Here's the trailer of Writing With Fire:

Now, while the Academy will award an Oscar to whoever makes the cut, here's why we think Writing With Fire deserves that golden statuette.

A DOCUMENTARY ON THE MOST MARGINALISED

The documentary shows the work of Dalit women journalists who know the ground reality of the place they live in. They know what issues concern people. 

For example, a broken hand pump at a village in a backward region of Uttar Pradesh would do nothing to draw attention of the national media. Or, how would a news organisation in New Delhi get to know about the rampant drought in the Bundelkhand region of UP that has destroyed the lives of farmers? This may not be part of prime time slots on national television, but it’s news nevertheless.

The women of Khabar Lahariya, braving all odds, brought these issues to the forefront. The weekly newspaper did cover real issues of the people, which were taken up by the administration and resolved. 

THE CONS OF BEING A DALIT WOMAN

In the documentary, a young woman journalist who goes to cover a story, confronts a group of young men who are hostile to her. One of the men from the group says, ”Media companies give journalists cars, bikes, mobiles; you don’t have anything.”

He then asks her if she takes bribes for publishing the story on the front page. She hits back, ”We don’t take bribes to publish news.” He, then, asks her to just leave.

This small incident tells you what’s ailing in a patriarchal society. The barrier of caste is so huge that many surrender to it than fighting it. 

The 3,000-year-old Indian caste system places Dalits on the bottom of the social hierarchy. Their lives are sordid tales of misery and poverty. The reporters of Khabar Lahariya are dalit women who have fought against all odds to do what they believe in. But how does society respond to it? The perils of being a Dalit woman - twice marginalised - are many. But, the women of Khabar Lahariya have stood their ground all these years, which is what makes their story so interesting.

WHO DECIDES WHAT IS NEWS

Writing With Fire forces us to think about who actually decides what we should see. Because we as viewers don’t know who decides it. Are we being served something which we shouldn't be? Sushmit Ghosh, while speaking to Amanpour and Company on YouTube, said that newsrooms in India are dominated by middle-aged upper-caste men who decide the news to be run.

In that, the concerning issues of Dalits and marginalised people fall behind. What Khabar Lahariya did was it pressed on the real, impactful issues.

BOUNDS OF FAMILY

As a viewer, you are astonished when you see a woman journalist working her heart out in the day and coming home at night only to explain to the family why she is doing this work. To a section of the audience, this would be intriguing because in an ideal world you don’t hear this.

But women reporters of Khabar Lahariya do this day in and day out. This is also one aspect of their lives that appealed to the filmmakers: the fact that these young women managed their personal and professional lives so well, without ever complaining about it.

THE MODERN SHIFT

In the documentary, we see young women journalists learning how to use a smartphone for making videos. These young women are trying their best to get accustomed to modern technology. They want to make sure that their reach widens. Their battle is bigger than their home or the everyday workplace problems. And perhaps that's what makes Writing With Fire deserve an Oscar this year.