Kids with cameras

I didn’t think I would want to watch a documentary film. Especially not one called ‘Born in the Brothels’; because I imagined it would be drenched in pathos & misery. So it was very grudgingly that I borrowed the DVD from a friend who recommended the film. And now I am glad I did.

Ross Kauffmann & Zana Briski are two photographers who wanted to photograph the women in the red-light district of Calcutta in India & decided that the best way to capture the reality of their lives was to go and live there. While they were there, Zana befriended the children of the sex-workers & started teaching them photography. The documentary is based on the lives of eight of these kids who discovered photography & hope around the same time, thanks to Zana. The great part about it is that although the kids are born in brothels, the documentary does not focus on the misery in their lives, but rather on the sparks in their eyes. These kids are adorable! Sure, there are moments in the documentary that gave me goose-bumps (the scene where a little boy shrugs & says he was flying kites on the terrace because his mom was ‘at work’ in their room; or when a girl talks about drunken men coming to her house). But mostly, the documentary is about the kids being kids inspite of their surroundings. When they visit the clinic for a HIV test, they worry more about how much the needle would hurt; and never about the result. When they speak of their fathers, they speak with love inspite of who they are. When they were asked to sign the photographs for their first exhibition, they couldnt because their hands were shaking with excitement & nervousness. When they finally leave the brothel for school, they have tears in their eyes because they’re leaving *home*.

The documentary was made in 2004. The kids have grown up since then, and it is so great to read this update on their lives!