Filmmaker Amitabh Prashar’s documentary The Midwife’s Confession brings the audience face-to-face with the harrowing reality of female infanticide

Nonika Singh

The journalist in him puts out facts in great detail. The emotional human being that he is breaks down in his own documentary. And the passion of the filmmaker makes him pursue his story with dogged tenacity. National Award-winning filmmaker Amitabh Prashar brings to us the harrowing reality of female infanticide in his home state Bihar in his latest documentary The Midwife’s Confession, a subject he followed for 28 long years.

And when he says ‘I don’t abandon my stories or my characters’, his BBC documentary stands as testimony to the labour of passion and conviction. To those who believe the issue of missing girl child is no longer alive, he shares, “Days before the release, there were at least two incidents reported by mainstream media—of a father burying his twin daughters alive and the other of a mother strangulating her fifth female child.” Hailing from Bihar, though he belonged to a family with progressive values, male child fixation and dowry deaths were something he had seen all around him.

Taking up a cause

As a young journalist back in 1995, he decided to follow a case where a father had strangulated his 11-month-old daughter. It also brought him face-to-face with Anila, who runs an NGO in Katiyar and has been instrumental in saving many lives and knew many midwives complicit in the crime. However, he also makes us see the silver lining amidst dark clouds. Empathy defines his approach in this BBC documentary, which brings to us one of the main characters, a midwife Siro. He states, “Confessions are not the story, but characters are.” Incidentally, among the many characters in the film, he too stands tall. Acutely conscious of the camera gaze, he agreed to be part of the film for that was the BBC mandate. As you watch him getting emotional at more than one point in the film, he reveals, “Once I became a character in the film, I had to be who I am and could not fake my emotions.” Actually, whenever and wherever the film has been shown viewers, including hardnosed journalists, have watched it with tears in their eyes.

Ironically and interestingly, the film is as heartrending as heart-warming. Amitabh adds, “The dichotomy of India is that while there are still scores of parents ready to throw away their female new-borns, there are many out there ready to adopt them as well.” The film brings to fore one such adopted girl, Monica’s story. In fact, he was able to locate two such girls. While one family had hidden the truth of adoption from their daughter, Monica’s family was more than willing to come on board. He says wistfully, “If Monica had said no and had I not met the adoptive parents of 11-month-old Medha, probably the film would not have ended on a hopeful note.” But when intention is right, things do fall in place.

Overcoming challenges

Indeed, making midwives confess on camera too was an uphill task. But he recalls how with time he gained their trust. Today, he thinks that the quality of being able to earn the confidence of your characters is paramount for documentary filmmakers.

The same transparency with which he works also manifested in his earlier film on Bhagalpur blindings. The Eyes of Darkness also won him a National Award and which many, he laughs, ‘consider my better film’. But as The Midwife’s Confession is getting millions of views, he is overwhelmed by the response and can sense hope of a better tomorrow in the stream of comments for the film.

Prior to the release of his film, he was a tad apprehensive about social backlash against the midwives, whom he views more as victims than accused. But in the heartening responses of viewers online, many of whom are even vowing not to take dowry, prime reason for society’s obsessive desire to have sons, he finds purpose and reasons to go on with a missionary zeal. “Life of documentary filmmakers,” he asserts, “continues to be an obstacle race.” Only he is ready to overcome the obstacles and run the long distance marathon.

In touch with many more characters he came across during the making of the film, expect more startling confessions and revelations that can make the world a better place. For now, watch his stirring requiem for the girl child. The Midwife’s Confession is available on YouTube.