It had all the trappings of a feature film – the angst, the passion, the agony and the conflicts – yet ‘Remembrance of things present’, gets over in a wink. But in 80 minutes, this documentary packs a punch that no film can boast of.

Directed and produced by Chandra Siddan, born and raised in Bangalore, now settled in Canada, ‘Remembrance of things present’ is a Canadian entry at the 2nd Bangalore International Film Festival here. It’s essentially Chandra’s story but tracks such socially relevant issues like female homelessness, immigration and child marriage.

Chandra who was married off when she was one month short of 16, leaves India, only to come back 12 years later to confront a culture that has made her its scapegoat. A camera follows her everywhere she goes and every person she meets. The past unfurls through black and white photos of a young, naive, Chandra and the present comes to you through people, dialogues and the voice-over.

Chandra asks everyone, from her parents to relatives and her now ex-husband Eshwarappa, this gnawing question: “Why was I, a teenager from an educated, upper middleclass family, married off at  such a young age?” And also, “Why no one ever tried to stop it?” She gets answers as varied as, “It would have caused ill will among families” to “it was a common practice then” to the one as bizarre as “Do we ask the chicken before we cook it?” underscoring her belief that her marriage at a tender age was deliberate and no happenstance.

But didn’t her family members feel awkward having a camera around all the time? And how did they appreciate the documentary? “They were feeling a bit uncomfortable with the whole camera thing but I had informed them beforehand that a camera woman would be accompanying me and my plans to make a film. They were prepared for it. My folks were more than happy to see me back after 12 years, so nothing else mattered to them,” Chandra says. “And they loved the documentary,” she adds.

Three years hence she made the film, Chandra is not sure if she has forgiven her parents for the injustice they did to her years ago. “I am still confused. Forgiving them would mean forgiving a culture that encourages the practice. When I blame my parents, I am actually blaming the society,” she says.

According to Chandra, divorce came as a natural alternative to her when she started to feel tied down in the marriage and began to get attracted to other men. She says she wants her film to tell other Indian women with similar experiences that they can find true love outside a forced marriage, only if they have the will to break the shackles and liberate. But for Chandra liberation came easy because she had the support of people who mattered to her — her daughter and her brother.

A happy marriage in Indian context is far from reality. A successful marriage is always an outcome of compromises. Is divorce the only answer to discordance in marriage? Didn’t we all have a happy childhood because of compromises our parents made in their life? Chandra begs to differ. “Everybody needs to live their life. If a marriage doesn’t work, move on. I don’t want to see women making sacrifices. Nobody appreciates it. It’s always taken for granted,” she says.

Chandra’s documentary touches upon so many similar questions but tapers off without giving a definite answer to any. She asks every woman to look beyond the obvious; there is a better tomorrow waiting to happen. Chandra Siddan can be reached at: zeidler@sympatico.ca.