Jai Bhim Comrade (2012) For thousands of years India’s Dalits were abhorred as “untouchables,” denied education and treated as bonded labour. By 1923 Bhimrao Ambedkar broke the taboo, won doctorates abroad and fought for the emancipation of his people. He drafted India’s Constitution, led his followers to discard Hinduism for Buddhism. His legend still spreads through poetry and song. In 1997 a statue of Dr. Ambedkar in a Dalit colony in Mumbai was desecrated with footwear. As angry residents gathered, police opened fire killing 10. Vilas Ghogre, a leftist poet, hung himself in protest.

Jai Bhim Comrade shot over 14 years, follows the poetry and music of people like Vilas and marks a subaltern tradition of reason that, from the days of the Buddha, has fought superstition and religious bigotry.

About Anand Patwardhan: A Retrospective

Anand Patwardhan is one of India’s most acclaimed documentary filmmakers, known for over five decades of fearless, politically engaged cinema. His films are both chronicles of resistance and cinematic interventions that confront the silences of official history, and have inspired generations of activists and filmmakers worldwide.

About Cinema House

Cinema House, a collective film viewing series, creates opportunities to celebrate independent films. Every month, our black box theatre transforms into a single-screen theatre dedicated to independent, regional, and contemporary world cinema accompanied by conversations with cast, crew, and audiences.