MUMBAI: While all mainstream channels are sprucing their programme content with new saas-bahu sagas and talent shows, DD Metro has opted for Bhaginee, a new series sponsored by the National Literacy Mission.
The series,based on true life stories, will bring to light the pioneering efforts and milestones achieved by women who are neo-literates from rural India.
Bhaginee, which means tigress in Bengali, will showcase the life of these women, some of whom are members and some even presidents of gram panchayats. "Apart from highlighting the essence of being literate, Bhaginee aims at empowering women . It urges them to take heed of the fact that authority can come from women too," says writer and director of the series, Anushree Dutt.
"A lot of research has gone into making the series. The series will inform the people about the kind of progress and thinking that has begun in rural areas. The intellectual thinking that prevails in these villages is comparable to that which exists in the city. People have become practical after becoming literate," Dutt adds.
Citing an example to prove her point, Dutt narrates the story of one of the episodes featuring a lady who is the president of a gram panchayat (village municipality). This lady was given a bill to sign and told that 30 wells had been dug in the area under her jurisdiction. She, however, insisted on seeing the wells before signing the bill. The contractor tried in vain to dissuade her from visiting the site.
When the lady in the story went to the site she found that pits were dug without walls around them. She told the contractor that the contract was to dig well and not pits and he had to do so in whatever amount had already been sanctioned. He had no choice but to relent. "That's the power of becoming a literate. It is because she was able to read and write that she refused to sign the bill without proof," says Dutt.
The entire series has been shot in the villages of Maharashtra and Gujarat. " The star cast primarily comprises theater artistes as I wanted actors who could play the characters in the most realistic manner" asserts Dutt." So far nine episodes have been shot , she adds.
The series will air on DD Metro on Thursdays and Fridays.