How this UAE-based film producer is enabling filmmakers speaking up for marginalised sections of society

For someone who grew up in Afghanistan, Jani Vishwanath seems to have a mystic connection with people in troubled zones. The Dubai-based philanthropist, whose non-profit organisation, Healing Lives, has been working extensively in the hinterlands of India, Bangladesh and Kenya, is now helping independent filmmakers take inspiring stories to a wider world.

Over the past five years, Vishwanath has backed four films, all from India’s neglected and troubled northeast region and all of them have stories that embody the human spirit.

Andro Dreams is one such film which would not have seen the light of day if ‘the universe had not conspired’ to connect Vishwanath with Meena Longjam who was facing an acute shortage of funds to release her five-year-old project.

The feature-length documentary by the National Award-winning filmmaker on Laibi, a 71-year-old Manipuri woman whose three-decade-old all girls’ football club is fighting for survival, has now earned two official selections in international film festivals in India and South Korea.

“The subject of the movie enticed me. I admire films like these that have been written, directed and made with a lot of love and passion and a lot of sincerity,” Vishwanath says.

“In a lot of these cases, the directors have put their personal money, they have sold their personal assets. If that’s the level of passion and sincerity, then I am very happy to back it.”

But even Vishwanath would not have been able to back Andro Dreams had it not been for a phone call from a well-meaning journalist from Guwahati, Assam.

“It took me five years to complete the documentary and yet I was in no position to release it. I had no funds,” says Meena.

“Then one fine day, mystically a friend (Abdul Gani) of mine from the media industry in Assam, who has been supporting independent filmmakers in the region through his articles, connected me with Jani.

“I didn’t know her at all, but when she heard the subject, she decided to back it. Actually, she didn’t back it, she rescued my project. She is my saviour!

“Now our documentary is going to international film festivals. I feel truly blessed because it’s a story that is close to my heart.”

Meena, whose National Award-winning documentary Autodriver revolves around a woman who drove a three-wheeler in conflict-torn Manipur to support her ailing husband and fund the education of her children, was intrigued by a newspaper article on AMMA FC, the all-girls football team founded by Laibi.

“It’s a very emotional story. She (Laibi) is 71, single and was the fifth girl child in the family. Being just another girl child in the family, her father completely refused to accept her,” says Meena.

“But somehow she completed her 10th exam and got a job in a the primary school as a teacher. She was also driven by a strong desire to empower young girls through football in her village, Andro.

“I found her fascinating. I always love telling stories of women who fight odds. I feel truly blessed now to have been able to take her story to the world with support from another woman (Jani) from another part of the world.”

Vishwanath is also now supporting Laibi’s all-girls team.

“I visited Manipur about 10 months ago. I wanted to see the place and meet the people. I never thought Manipur would be so beautiful. The north-east is beautiful, they are blessed with everything that nature can give you. It’s not industrialised, it’s not polluted. It has beautiful mountains and hills and we roamed freely. It was so peaceful, I have never seen such a beautiful place, there was no trouble at all,” she says referring to the unrest that has gripped the north-eastern state in the past five months. “We met Liabi, the old lady who started the football club and all the girls. It was wonderful. She is single, doesn’t speak a word of Hindi or English.

“But it was her spirit that resonated with me. She is fighting a patriarchal society. She weaves and sells traditional scarves, the money she uses to fund the club. She was struggling financially, so I am also backing her team now.”

Having spent many years of her life providing relief work in the far-flung places of Kenya, India and Bangladesh, Vishwanath says it’s an emotionally fulfilling experience for her to be able to help filmmakers who want to speak up for the margianalised sections of the society.

“It (backing films) is an extension of what we do as an NGO, which is to enable the weaker sections of the society. Personally, I am an artist myself, I paint, so I have a soft corner for all types of arts. For me, films, literature and music are the three mediums of expression. This is the only way one can express our ideas and thoughts to create an impact on society,” she says.

“So all the movies I have backed are very relevant to the society, whether it is patriarchy, the civil war or the children that grow up in conflict-torn areas.

“In fact, one of the movies I backed, Jwlwi: The seed (Bodo), is now in a university in Japan. They have kept it in their archive as a study for troubled zones.”

The ongoing unrest in Manipur has now troubled Vishwanath, whose Healing Lives foundation has been distributing relief material in the worst-hit areas of the state.

“I grew up in Afghanistan, it was a war-torn country. Then it was the late 1970s. Now it’s 2023. So as a race, you begin to wonder, have we gone ahead, or have we gone backwards? This disturbs me a lot. My mission is a challenge and it’s a struggle,” she says.

Vishwanath’s first film as a producer, the award-winning Assamese movie Xhoixobote Dhemalite (Rainbow Fields), dealt with children who grew up in riot-hit Assam in the early 1980s.

“The language is irrelevant to me. Films are a universal medium that cross all boundaries and tell a tale with visual impact,” she says.

“The journey for me into film production will continue and I hope to produce more strong, meaningful films and documentaries in future.”

rituraj@khaleejtimes.com