‘Kakkoos’ filmmaker Divya Bharathi seeks funds for upcoming projects

Divya Bharathi is currently working on several projects including ‘Chaatla’, a documentary based on the lives of transgender sex workers.
‘Kakkoos’ filmmaker Divya Bharathi seeks funds for upcoming projects
‘Kakkoos’ filmmaker Divya Bharathi seeks funds for upcoming projects
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Filmmaker and activist Divya Bharathi, who is best known for her hard-hitting documentary films Kakkoos (2017) and Orutharum Varela (2018), has recently started a fundraising campaign in association with Ketto, a crowdfunding platform, to raise funds for her upcoming projects.

In a Facebook post, the filmmaker revealed that she is currently working on a documentary titled Chaatla, which is based on the lives of transgender persons in several districts across Tamil Nadu. The documentary specifically outlines the harsh realities faced by transgender sex workers. Divya said that the funds raised will be used to purchase appropriate filming and computing equipment as well as other apparatus including lens, camera and sound recorder. 

Explaining how she has been challenged by the government for questioning the status quo and speaking truth to power through her documentaries, Divya wrote in the description for the fundraising campaign that despite the resistance and odds, she is determined to stand with the oppressed and use her craft to shine a light on the people who have been abandoned to the shadows. 

Speaking to TNM, Divya Bharathi said: “Several cases were slammed against me. Although the cases have been dismissed at court, it is still difficult to associate with production banners, seek grants and have screenings for the documentaries.” 

She also added that the opposition, abuses, and threats she has been facing from the government, as well as others, are some of the main reasons why she has opted to release the documentaries on YouTube. “I have been funding my previous projects through personal loans or support extended by friends and well-wishers,” she explained. 

The fundraiser for her upcoming projects was started with the aim to collect an amount of Rs 12 lakh by August 10, 2021. Contribution worth Rs 2 lakh has been made by 49 donors, so far.  

Divya Bharathi’s first documentary Kakkoos showed how manual scavenging continues to be practiced as opposed to the state laws. It delves into the extent of marginalisation and inhumane treatment manual scavengers are subjected to. The documentary also discusses the caste-based discrimination and implications associated with manual scavenging. Meanwhile, her second documentary Orutharum Varela shed light on the aftermath of the Ockhi cyclone, showcasing the poor crisis management. It also brought to the fore, the perils of India’s SagarMala project.  

In 2017, an FIR was lodged by Bhaskar Madhuram, an advocate and leader of the Puthiya Tamilagam Party, after the release of Kakkooos, under the sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between groups...), 505 (1) (b) (Statement conducting to public mischief) and 66 F of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (offence of cyber terrorism). 

And in 2018, following the release of her second documentary, Orutharum Varela, Divya Bharathi was once again charged under IPC Sections 153A(1)(b), and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act which deals primarily with disrespect to the national flag. She said, “There was a scene in the trailer of Orutharum Varela, which featured a torn national flag attached to a boat since it was shot at flood-hit areas. It was difficult to organise a screening for both the films, especially for the second since the cases were filed shortly after the trailer was released.” However, the cases registered against both the documentaries have been quashed in court.

Speaking about her upcoming projects, Divya Bharathi noted, “The production work for Chaatla is yet to be completed. Production of a documentary about TN-based folk artists is also underway.” She added that she is also currently working on a feature film based on the lives of transgender persons, that is being bankrolled by a production house.

Contribute to filmmaker Divya Bharathi's fundraiser here  

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