Godi

Godi is very close to my heart, not only because it is my debut movie but also because it demonstrates the culture I wanted to show to the world. Godi is based on this young girl with ambitions, whose father marries her off at a very early age. Her life unfolds in a direction so atrocious that she has lost all her hopes and enthusiasm of life.
Godi represents many women and little girls that are suffering to find their own identity. She is being suppressed in her own family like many women still are and the ending of this movie is subconscious of thousands of women and girls that thinks about running away from their nightmare but just cannot. Be it the societal pressure or the fear of surviving alone. They’d rather face the problems than take a bold step of making a positive change in their lives.
The process of making this film started very early on in my subliminal self, I must say. I grew up in the city and just in my neighborhood I would sometimes notice these women in black attire doing Chhajiya [hitting chest with their hands in funeral]. This custom goes on for a few days after the death of the person. Every time I would see it, I’d be surprised because it was notably too peculiar. I would ask myself the reason why they do this and why they would hurt themselves for someone they may have barely known. This was not a constant question in my mind, but I’d question it every time I see it. One day when I was sitting on my balcony, I saw these women doing chhajiya, and I saw it till that irritating sound of everyone crying faded in my mind. This one episode made me embark upon a journey to find an answer and to learn more about their culture and their customs.
Upon asking people here and there, I found out that their community is scattered all over Gujarat in rural as well as urban areas. My curiosity to find out their customs took me to numerous places, villages, cities, beautiful places and frankly some frightening places too. Many stories unfolded as I spoke to different people, and I also came across the prominence of child marriage in this culture to this date. Living in the city, I was barely aware of their age-old customs. So, when I got to talk to people on ground level, I decided that I will share a story that can visually tell so much about being a little girl in this community. I have tried to share the story as authentically as possible which closely showcases the customs and culture of this community.
Now, I give this story to you and hope that it tells it’s story in a unique way to everyone that sees it.