MENARCHE OR a girl’s first period is an event of celebration in Shirapur village in Solapur district from where 29-year-old filmmaker Shankar Arjun Dhotre belongs. Dhotre observed that the customs followed to mark the menarche has the girl worshipped the first day but isolated from everyone thereafter. “The girl is treated like a goddess but soon she is asked to not touch anything or sit with anyone. I never understood why, and the question remained with me since then,” he said.
Dhotre’s directorial debut film ‘Potra’, based on the menstrual cycle, is part of the Marathi competition section of the 20th edition of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). The 78-minute art film entered the film festival circuit and has so far been screened at 40 film festivals, including the Ambernath Film Festival, Rome International movie awards, Paris International Film Awards, Fox International Film Festival, Russia and New York International Film Awards.
The film was adjudged as the best film in the Halicarnassus Film Festival held in Turkey and Best Debut Director’s award at the 25th World Film Carnival-Singapore.
The protagonist, Geeta, is a teenager, who excels in academics and extracurricular activities. After she gets her first period, her grandmother nags her father to find a groom for her at the earliest. ‘Potra’ in Marathi means ‘raw sorghum (jowari) and the story ends on a poignant note that highlights the blatant struggle between education and regressive patriarchal norms that strongly impact the life of a girl child.
“I have been working on the story of the film for the past eight-nine years. When I was a child, I had observed some customs that were followed when a girl reached puberty and had her first period. So, the first day is commemorated but for five days she is called impure. If she is impure, then I believe God is impure, as it is God who has made her… The question remained with me and made me write the story,” said the director.
In his early days, Dhotre was very much into sketching and painting. “Shashikant Dhotre, an Indian Contemporary painter is my older brother. Art gave me a good sense of framing and observing people. I always wanted to make a film, as I love the art of storytelling. You see, every art form is a form of storytelling and I like the medium of film,” said Dhotre.
Potra replicated Dhotre’s first-hand experience and his familiarity with the various customs around menstruation. No stone was left unturned to replicate the reality of adolescent girls in rural India.