The Times Of India
TNN | Aug 4, 2015, 01.54 AM IST
KOLKATA: A documentary on the Jain practice of santhara, where a person takes a vow of abstinence and starves to death, has won a Special Jury award at the recently concluded Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival 2015. The 25-minute film has been written, directed and edited by Mumbai-based journalist-filmmaker Shekhar Hattangadi.
The film, 'Santhara', focuses on the conflict between a traditional religious practice and modern laws by exploring the spiritual, ethical, sociological and medico-legal aspects of santhara. It depicts the last moments in the life of a Jain nun who performed the ritual and is based on interviews with Jain religious scholars and community elders as well as legal experts and people who have filed a PIL calling for a ban on the practice.
The film takes a look on how religion, law and constitutional secularism intersect in the ongoing debate on this centuries-old practice. "Santhara for me is a classic example of the challenge that all faith-based societies face as they adopt modern and secular norms of governance," Hattangadi said.
Hattangadi, who also teaches law, said the idea of making a documentary on this subject came from his classes. "My favorite subject to teach is constitutional law, though many students feel it is too abstract and difficult to comprehend. To dispel this wrong notion, I take news clippings on some controversial issues to class and, through the Socrates method of teaching, initiate a debate on the constitutionality of the issue," he said. "Some years ago, I took clippings on santhara to class. The debate revolved around the question of this practice violating Section 309 IPC (committing suicide) and Article 21 of the Constitution (right to life). What came out was that defenders of the practice use the same Article 21 in their arguments, holding that right to life also guarantees right to terminate one's life," he said.
Hattangadi travelled to Rajasthan several times to meet Jain religious and community leaders to learn about santhara. "After five years, I felt I had earned their trust and confidence and took a camera to have them speak on the subject in front of it. The filming took four months," he said.
Hattangadi showed an earlier version of the film at a seminar at Bombay University in December 2014 where it created a lot of excitement. "I entered it at the Bangalore Shorts Film Festival earlier this year and it won the Best Documentary Screenplay Award," he said.
The director is planning a documentary on several other religious practices that violate law. "There is a practice of child 'diksha', or inducting a child as a monk, among Hindus, Jains and Buddhists that many child rights activists say amounts to violating the law. Then there are practices like ban on entry of women in some temples and mosques, or the use of wine in Churches where prohibition is in force. The challenge is how to reconcile individual freedom and personal liberty as well as a community's religious rights with the law and the need for state intervention in matters concerning religion," he said.
'Santhara' does not take any sides in this debate and that, say critics, is one of the good things about the film.