The world before her

Twenty beautiful Indian girls are being trained to Mumbai to look even more beautiful and glamour, sensual and elegant. Other Indian girls are being trained in the camp of Durga Vahini to learn the doctrine of Hindutva and fight those who want to colonize and destroy the Indian religion, civilization and traditions.

Miss India and a paramilitary training camp, two worlds that could not be more distant, but well summarize the current historical moment of the Indian continent.

Truly a beautiful documentary that screened in Florence in the first edition of the 'Tribeca Florence', the Italian branch of the famous film festival in New York. And at the Tribeca New York 'The world before her', the title of the documentary, won the World Documentary Award.

The filmmaker Nisha Pahuja was not limited to interview the protagonists of these two worlds, but she entered into their homes, she did talk about the family, has shown the social and cultural context in which these very different girls, misses and the Hindu fighters, live. She has showed their diverse ideals, their aspirations and their dreams.

One thing unites all these girls, they are all equally determined to reach the goal: the crown of Miss and a career in show business on the one hand and the fight, armed fight if necessary, to defend  Indian traditions on the other.

A clever document not only on the condition of women in India, but also on the two extreme choices that India today appears to be pursuing: Western consumerism and Hindu fundamentalism, without the possibility of a mediation or a third way that, in my opinion, only India could give to the world.