She Creates Change: Diksha

Having grown up in a multitude of counties, from Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates to India, my formative years were spent in many different schools, perpetually the ‘new kid’, constantly adapting to change. I believe that the every-shifting backdrop of my youth has opened my mind from a very young age to a smorgasbord of ideas. Knowing people from all walks of life has helped me create an open-minded view of the world, always welcoming of new concepts and thoughts. And so, I am constantly creating, conjuring up stories out of incidents, people, and more. Art and filmmaking were my guiding lights and where I found solace.

I was most inclined to tell Diksha's tale because it so closely mirrored my own experiences of growing up somewhere my skin was alien, and therefore, othered. I was darker than all of my Indonesian classmates in primary school, and I remember instances of bullying and micro-aggressions due to this very fact. Many Indian girls face this caste-based and color-based discrimination even today; this is not just Diksha's tale, but mine, and so many other little kids who feel lost.

I hope to empower young girls through Diksha's story, taking them through the narrative of how she took control of her own agency. There is potential in each one of us. Sometimes, a film is all it takes to open one's eyes to their unlocked power.