KBC 14: The 2022 Oscar-nominated Indian documentary ‘Writing With Fire’ tells the story of the women journalists of which rural newspaper?

Options

Khabar Lahariya

Gaon Connection

Akhand Jyoti

Kadambini

Answer: Khabar Lahariya

“Writing With Fire” lost to “Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” in the best documentary feature category at the 94th edition of the Academy Awards that was held earlier this month. 

The Indian documentary chronicled the rise of Khabar Lahariya, a newspaper run by Dalit women, and was India’s sole representation at the Academy Awards.

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The documentary, directed by up-and-coming filmmakers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, had its world premiere at Sundance last year.

It courted controversy when the Khabar Lahariya organisation issued a lengthy statement saying the documentary did not accurately present their story.

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Khabar Lahariya editor Kavita Bundelkhandi sai it portrayed the media collective “inaccurately” by showing that it only focuses on reporting on issues surrounding “one political party”.

“The documentary portrays our work inaccurately because it shows only a part of what we do, and shows that ours is only about one political party,” Bundelkhandi told PTI without naming the political party.

She added that they were proud that a documentary was made on their achievements but wished it was a more rounded portrayal.

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Meanwhile, Speaking to PTI when Oscars nominations were announced, Ghosh had said, “This is a massive moment for us and for Indian cinema… This film is about fearless Dalit women journalists who are redefining what being powerful means, quintessentially the story of the modern Indian woman.”