Maheen Mirza

Chess is a popular pastime in this neighbourhood, with roadside games bringing together men, to challenge each other in friendly and sometimes unfriendly matches. But for some, the pawns include morality and religion causing tensions to erupt when a tournament gets underway. Against this backdrop, a domestic worker with a secret hobby, a former journalist struggling with married life and a young woman in love, find themselves pushing boundaries and challenging the rules of the game.

Story of the unexpected imprisonment of a number of women, for their resistance to the Emergency of 1975-77, through the life of Socialist and famous actor Snehalata Reddy. Being the only woman political prisoner in jail, she spent eight months in solitary confinement, recording her concerns and traumatic experiences in her diary, extracts of which were later published. Released for a few weeks on parole, she died of a heart attack just before she was to return to jail. The film recounts her ordeal through the reminiscences of her children and close friends.

After sudden eviction by their prejudiced landlord, transwomen Laila and Roshni must put their wits together to find a home and reclaim their place in society.

Rural, adivasi women from the villages of Raigarh, Chhattisgarh critique the grand plan of development of the country. As mines and power plants appear and grow in monstrous proportions around them, many of them have been cheated of their land and compensation. Their relationship with the forest and environment has been severed, leaving them surrounded by a toxic, polluted, gutted earth. As they grapple with all this, they seek justice for themselves and their communities and share their thoughts about how a country should be.