MANJUBEN TRUCK DRIVER
Indien 2002 – Director: Sherna Dastur – Original language: hindi – Subtitles: English – Length: 52 min.
Miss Manju is a truck driver who defies the Indian gender stereotypes. As a half Shiva, half Shakti, as Manju describes herself, she has created herself an identity against all social and cultural odds, thus gaining respect among her peers. This new identity is deliberately male and seems to draw on several widespread notions of maleness. Thus, Manju wears men's clothes, gets herself photographed in poses popularised by filmstar Amitabh Bachchan, and totally blends into the very masculine world of truckers. Yet, Manju is an enigma and defies simple categorisation. While being one of the boys, so to speak, she is unlike most truckers, neither smokes nor drinks. And while she seems to have cultivated a persona that is unusual for rural women, she seems to share most of the patriarchal values that she has imbibed from childhood. In other words: Manju is no crusader.
Beautifully shot, with lots of close-ups of the busy indian roads, the documentary has been structured as a poetic tale portraying the protagonist but also the social landscape around her.
Festivals:
The Museum of Modern Art New York, IDFA Amsterdam, 2002, Festival international de films de femmes, Créteil; London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Hamburg, Berlin, San Francisco and Chicago, Sao Paolo, VIKALP Mumbai 2004
English/Original Title: Miss Manju Truck Driver. Camera: Mohanan. Sound: Madhu Apsara. Editing: Lalitha Krishna. Production: Sehjo Singh, Sherna Dastur. Producer: Sehjo Singh und Sherna Dastur.
