Film on female foeticide on Dutch TV

Patiala, November 7
India has always attracted foreign filmmakers and documentary makers for numerous reasons. They are fascinated by Indian culture and tradition and like to focus on real-life social problems that afflict society.

Dutch television, through its researcher Marnel Breure, is planning a series of seven documentaries on modern India. One of these documentaries is about Punjab and focuses on the problems of female foeticide, domestic violence and drug abuse. In this context, Nr Jelle Brandt, a Dutch journalist and collaborator with Marnel, visited Patiala and nearby villages to find out more about these problems.

Using Patiala-based doctor Dr Harshinder's book “Female Foeticide: a curse” as the base of their documentary, he visited Mallan Kheri village of Patiala district to get a first-hand account of the situation prevailing in the villages of Punjab. He was accompanied by Dr Harshinder Kaur who acted as a mediator between him and villagers.

Talking to The Tribune, Brandt said that he interviewed the villagers and discussed the reasons behind the killing of the girlchild in the womb. "The unanimous opinion was that the main reason that prompted the killing of the female foetus is dowry and unless this practice is curtailed or stopped it would be really difficult to curb this menace," he added.

He further informed that they had selected various states for highlighting different issues. They would be shooting a documentary each in Mumbai, Hayana, Delhi and Punjab.

"I was thrilled to see India as I had a totally different picture in my mind. Despite the fact that there were some problems, one cannot deny the fact that Indian was no less than other developed countries. I interacted with a large number of people and collected enough information as to how we could highlight the issue of female foeticide and convince people to shun this practice. I will return with my team in February 2012 and shoot the entire documentary," added Brandt.