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Born into Brothels

by Rajani | January 2005

"Born into Brothels", by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, is a documentary depicting the lives of children of prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta. Long after the film was over, I found myself thinking about the faces of those children, their smiles in particular—the smiles, with the authenticity that can only come from an utter lack of self consciousness found in children, seemingly more heart wrenching than any tears or disappointment.

The filmmakers have done a remarkable job demonstrating what children that are normally neglected (by society and state, if not by the parents themselves) and stigmatized can get up to creatively, when given the opportunity. In this sense, despite its subject matter, this is a heartwarming film about the spirit and resilience of children.

In the beginning of the film Briski, a photographer from New York, explains how she got involved with protitutes in the district, and then their children, eventually deciding to teach the children photography and sending them out into the streets with cameras to capture their neighbourhood, lives, family and friends in their own way. The film is permeated, therefore, with images taken by the children themselves—the world through their eyes, literally. These images include street scenes, family members and, of course, each other. It also documents Briski's efforts to find eight of the children, who are the emphasis of the film, boarding schools that will take them, so that they can finally be allowed to see a world beyond the one they have been born into. Additionally, the photographs taken by the children are exhibited locally and in New York in order to raise money for the children and their future education.

Apart from the subjects themselves, the inspiring thing about this film is the kind of social activism that Briski is participating in. By the simple act of putting cameras into the hands of these children, Briski has given them creative ambition and a self identity that may have previously seemed beyond the scope of their lives. Most people pity the conditions that these children live in, but it seems much more worthwhile to give them a push through which they can use their surroundings and their lives, in this case by photographing them, to somehow transcend the labels that society may choose to place on them. When Avijit, clearly the most talented of the group, discusses the importance of realism in photography with other young photographers from around the world ("Because it is truth," he says) you want to cheer and cry at the same time. Perhaps Avijit, in particular, would have seen himself as an artist even if Briski had not come along. But Briski validates his ambition, and the value of that accomplishment—of broadening the world of a young person—is immeasurable.

The film is also heartbreakingly sad. How long, you cannot help wondering, before the children—in particular the girls—succumb to a life that is the exact replica of the lives of their parents? This is underscored by Briski's sense of urgency in finding them boarding schools to go to. Most of us understand that the circumstances of birth and their eventual consequence can be almost impossible to circumvent. The filmmakers manage to portray youthful optimism without obscuring the real perils of the children's lives. For one thing, the children have a sense of adulthood that is difficult to miss. One of the children, Suchitra, we are told, is under immense pressure to join the profession that all the women in her family have been a part of. We are told, at the end of the film, that Suchitra did not go to the boarding school that was willing to accept her because she did not get permission from her family. When I think about her now, I am certain that she is a sex worker somewhere in Calcutta today.

The film draws you in and involves you so intimately with the lives and personalities of these children in so short a time, that you feel a sense of helplessness and frustration. But one thing that Briski does—and this is the real accomplishment of the film—is show us that we can do something about it.

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Born into Brothels

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