Amma Ki Katha (My Grandmother’s Tale)
Director: Nehal Vyas
Year: 2023
Language: Hindi-Urdu
Duration: 21 mins
Evoking many Indian households where grandmothers and mothers narrate mythological stories to children on quiet summer nights, the film recalls the director’s grandmother’s tales, where gods were kind, liberal, accepting, democratic—belonging to everyone rather than to one single ideology. Such stories never for once threatened an India rooted in plurality and peaceful coexistence and yet today, they have now been deployed as political tools in pursuit of a hyper-nationalist, communal nation. In a sharply observed juxtaposition of the tenderness of inherited storytelling with its contemporary politicization, the film is a call to remember and hold on to the fading dream of a secular nation, and reclaim it.
About the Director
Nehal Vyas
Nehal Vyas is a filmmaker and programmer from India, currently based in Los Angeles. Her work reflects on and engages with the notions of nationhood, citizenship, mythology, and family histories. She is invested in building community spaces where filmmaking serves as an ally. She is a graduate from California Institute of the Arts where she received her MFA in Film/Video. Her work has been supported by San Sebastian Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, FID Marseille, IDA, Camden International Film Festival, and Prismatic Ground amongst other venues. She is a member of the Bahía Collective. Her earlier films include Dapaan (2022) and Saleh Bhambru (2017).