New Delhi, March 3
Documentary maker Leslee
Udwin, during the making of "India's Daughter" which is based on the
horrific December 16, 2012 gang rape in Delhi, tried several methods to
evoke remorse or any other emotion in Mukesh Singh, one of the convicts,
during their conversation but failed miserably. The director said he
stoically listened to her like a robot.
"He is like a robot. I
tried every possible thing to see if he had any remorse in him. I listed
out the set of gruesome injuries these men had inflicted upon the
victim, but he stood still, without any emotion," Udwin said on Tuesday
at a conference at the Royal Plaza here.
"The only influence on him is the mindset. How he has been brought up to look at women," she said.
The
Israeli-born director got herself embroiled in a controversy after some
of the comments made by the convict hit the headlines on Monday, much
before the documentary was scheduled to be aired March 8.
Delhi Police swung into action following the controversy over interviewing the convict.
"We
are going to move the court against the broadcast of such inputs...
This was a ghastly crime and the law has been broken, we will
investigate the case," Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi told
reporters here.
Speaking to reporters, the British documentary
maker said all the "necessary protocol" was followed in the making of
the documentary.
"I wrote a letter to Tihar's director general
saying that the film will be in public interest and there won't be any
unnecessary sensationalism. I was given the permission and I interviewed
these convicts from October 8 to 10, 2013," she said on being asked
whether permission was taken to interview the convicts.
"This
controversy is unnecessary and I request you all to watch the film first
before concluding anything. The footage was shown to the jail
authorities," she added.
She said she started working on the
documentary two years ago as she was "shocked and upset" after the story
of the brutal gang rape of the 23-year-old woman in a moving bus made
it to the headlines across the globe.
But what was more shocking
for her was the way these convicts felt about women's status in society
and judged them on the basis of conservative mindsets.
In fact,
Mukesh Singh, in his interview, openly blamed the victim and said a
"girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy" and also that the
victim should not "resist" when being raped.
What Udwin hopes to achieve through this documentary is to challenge the mindset and look at gender inequality in society.
"The
film should make you think how women are treated in your family and the
country. What kind of attitude we have towards women in our society and
how that can be changed by instilling gender equality at a very early
age and at home," she told IANS.
For this documentary, Udwin spoke to the convicts, their families and the parents of the victim.
One
of the most memorable moments for her was when she watched the
hour-long film with the victim's family in complete silence and after it
ended, her father told her "Bahut accha hai" (It is very good).
"They are extraordinary human beings who have shown extraordinary courage," she said.
The
documentary is to be broadcast in India on International Women's Day on
March 8 on NDTV 24X7 at 9 p.m. It is to be simultaneously shown in
countries like Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Canada.
But with the police planning to move court against airing the
documentary, a question mark remains on its telecast.
