Please Don't Beat Me, Sir!
Director Shashwati Talukdar, P. Kerim Friedman
Countries United States, India
Duration 73 min
Synopsis
'Please Don't Beat Me Sir' is set in a ghetto in Western IN. It's about Budhan Theatre, a group of young Chhara Tribals who are considered “born criminals.” In 2003 Dakxin, a director and playwright, was arrested on false charges. We started documenting his case. We were concerned because the Chharas face are regularly brutalized by the Police. The documentary evolved from that initiative. Dakxin and his friend Roxy became our guides into why the Chhara are so reviled. They told us how the Chhara were notified as “born criminals” by the British colonial government in 1871, and how entire families were incarcerated in “soft” concentration camps. The British are long gone but their legacy remains in the shape of social discrimination and prejudice. There is however, a ray of hope in the form of Budhan Theatre, which works to bring about change in this beleaguered community.
'Please Don't Beat Me Sir' is set in a ghetto in Western IN. It's about Budhan Theatre, a group of young Chhara Tribals who are considered “born criminals.” In 2003 Dakxin, a director and playwright, was arrested on false charges. We started documenting his case. We were concerned because the Chharas face are regularly brutalized by the Police. The documentary evolved from that initiative. Dakxin and his friend Roxy became our guides into why the Chhara are so reviled. They told us how the Chhara were notified as “born criminals” by the British colonial government in 1871, and how entire families were incarcerated in “soft” concentration camps. The British are long gone but their legacy remains in the shape of social discrimination and prejudice. There is however, a ray of hope in the form of Budhan Theatre, which works to bring about change in this beleaguered community.