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This feature film by Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti charts the evolution of an illiterate woman from a dummy panchayat president elected under the 73rd amendment to a committed, responsible and empowered leader
Dwitiya Paksha (The Second Innings)
Bengali, 2003
96 mins
Directed by Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti  Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti's maiden feature film, Dwitiya Paksha , shows how cinema can be used to make a powerful statement about a governance issue, in this case a constitutional amendment. The film is set against the backdrop of the 73rd amendment, which provided for the reservation of seats for women in rural and local councils (panchayats) and made it possible for 1 million women to assume decision-making positions in local governance at the grassroots level in India . The reservation was introduced in the form of a bill on April 24, 1993 -- a landmark event in the country's democratic process.
Dwitiya Paksha explores the blossoming of one such woman to whom the position comes as a result of reservation. Shyama, the new bride of the house, is put up as a dummy candidate by her father-in-law, Gagan Banik, so that he can retain control of the panchayat post he has had to surrender on account of the amendment. In India it is not uncommon for posts reserved for women to be filled by wives, daughters and daughters-in-law of men who are loath to surrender their positions and the power that goes with them. But this is not the case with Shyama, the protagonist in Dwitiya Paksha , who becomes increasingly aware of her rights and responsibilities as a panchayat president as the film unfolds. Dwitiya Paksha in Bengali means 'second spouse'. In the film, the director uses the metaphor of the phases of the moon to develop the theme, where Shyama uses her 'second phase' to make a bid to right the wrongs in her village. This second phase is also perhaps the best phase for Shyama who moves from being an angootha chhaap (illiterate) panchayat president to a committed, responsible and empowered leader. Chakraborthi uses a typical middle-class Bengali family setting to show how the assertion of a woman's power and her ability to separate her familial duties and her political responsibilities can bring about change in society. Shyama's courage and ability to stand up to the bullying of her father-in-law and his contractor friend impacts everyone in the house, even Shyama's husband Gagan who changes from being an indolent, non-interfering son to a husband who asserts himself both with his aunt and his father over sending his daughter to school. The director drew her inspiration for Dwitiya Paksha from the women she met in several Indian villages while making a documentary titled Daughters of the 73 rd Amendment . In many cases, male relatives took it for granted that the women would act as 'safe' proxies, while they pulled the strings from behind. This assumption was often belied. If the women in the villages have proved their mettle in positions of power, then Dwitiya Paksha cannot be faulted for the idealism it depicts about a woman's ability to do a job more efficiently and honestly than a man. The film makes it a point not to conclude with Shyama winning the elections at the end of her 'reserved' term. The director wishes to stress the process of empowerment, revealed in Shyama's choice to contest the elections again, this time against her father-in-law. The film shows that women are capable of using the 73rd amendment and then going beyond it. This is true empowerment. Dwitiya Paksha has been screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival in 2004, the Nehru Centre in London and at the Social Communication Cinema Festival in Kolkatta. Chakraborti's other documentaries include Half-Way Home (1995); The School That Karmi Soren Built (1996); Uttaradhikar 1997 ) Najaayaz (1998), and Aids, Lies and Documentaries (1999 ) . -- Melanie P Kumar InfoChange News and Features, June 2005
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