Draft:Gopal Menon

Gopal Menon, born on 29 April 1974, is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his people-oriented and activist documentary films. The screening of his recent short film ‘Madithattu’ (In the Lap) marked the beginning of a fervent conversation, praising its impact and leaving viewers empathetic to intellectually challenged children around us.

Some of his famous films are "Hey Ram: Genocide in the Land of Gandhi ", "Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence", "PAPA 2", "Resilient Rhythms", "Marching Towards Freedom", and "The Unholy War ", "I am Hadiya " and "The Broken Camera".

Professional career
Gopal Menon started his career producing an ecological documentary on Nilgiris biosphere (refers to a range of mountains spread across the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala). While still a student of Business Administration, he started working with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on the organised violence on Muslims in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and the subsequent bomb blasts in the city.

Gopal Menon likes to be known as an activist-filmmaker and is known for quickly responding to religious extremism and community conflicts. He has always had the reporter’s instinct of picking up ‘newsy’ and ‘breaking news’ themes, even as it becomes a running story and a controversial public narrative.

While PAPA 2 concerns with the enforced disappearances in Kashmir in the 1990s, his critically acclaimed documentary "Hey Ram: Genocide in the Land of Gandhi" deals with the Gujarat riots in 2002. As the first filmmaker to create a film on the Gujarat riots within the first three weeks of the violence, the documentary records the testimonies of the victims. In making visible the anguish and helplessness of the subjects of the riot, Hey Ram is a bold attempt that explores hate politics, communal riots, and right-wing fundamentalism. Despite opposition from governments and nosy policemen, Menon has already completed 600-odd screenings of the film in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Jallianwala Bagh, where an eager crowd of 7,000 stood witness to a historic repeat show. Kolkata alone had 40 screenings. During the Goa Assembly Elections 2002, The Election Commission in Goa banned Hey Ram, claiming that it has potential to create communal tension in the state. Gopal Menon also faced an assault during the filming of Hey Ram.

"The Killing Fields of Muzaffarnagar" shows incidents behind riots in Muzaffarnagar, pointing out that riots were instigated by right-wing Hindu politicians after Gujarat minister Amit Shah was sent to UP for Lok Sabha elections. The 50-minute documentary showed lives of riot-affected families living in refugee camps. The Supreme Court has taken into cognizance Menon’s documentary as one of the five DVDs submitted to the apex court by petitioners seeking justice to show the incidents of riots. The film has unbelievable footage of live riots, people with guns and swords on the road, houses and shops burning and provocative speeches in the maha panchayat which has not yet come in the public domain.

The film "Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence " features India’s Naga peoples’ movement against extinction for over more than a century of struggle. Human rights abuses have been shown on the film due to heavy militarization in the area during the last five decades.

His 2010 film “Marching towards freedom”  captures the lives of people engaged in manual scavenging, their quest for justice, the denial of authorities to grant them a life of dignity.

I am Hadiya
The Hadiya case (Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M) was a 2017–2018 Indian Supreme Court case that affirmed the validity of the marriage of Hadiya (formerly Akhila Ashokan) and Shafin Jehan, which was challenged by Hadiya's family. Media outlets have described the underlying dispute as an allegation of "love jihad". Gopal Menon directed a documentary titled "I am Hadiya ", which discussed the intersectionality of issues such as women's rights, religion, and the OBC community from which she hails, among others. He relied on a scientific investigation to uncover the truth about her conversion and marriage. The documentary premiered in Calicut to a packed audience on October 30, 2017. The film sparked off a debate in Kerala. Across the spectrum of religion, communities, civil society and women's groups, people have argued that 'inter-faith', inter-caste and 'inter-religious' relationships and marriages are legitimate in a mature and democratic society, and any move to brand it as 'love jihad' will not be allowed in 'secular Kerala'.

Madithattu (In the Lap)
Madithatu (In the Lap), a short film deals with sexual violence and social auditing faced by people with disabilities in society. The 35-minute short film is about a woman’s daily plight to raise her intellectually disabled teenage daughter and how it takes a bad turn when the sexual-predatory society makes things worse. Shobhana, the mother (played by Devi Ajith), works as a domestic help and struggles to give her daughter Sangeetha (Sreelakshmi), enough care and keep her safe and protected. The film's adept use of frames and cinematography conveys yet another layer, hinting at the pervasive social exclusion ingrained in society. The geographical setting of their home becomes a metaphor for the daily marginalisation experienced by the characters. Gopal decided to make the film after his conversations with PKM Siraj, who runs the Humanity Charitable Trust, a non-profit in Kozhikode for the welfare of people with intellectual disability (ID).

Awards
Gopal Menon's Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence, a 64-minute film on the history of the Naga people won the 'Spirit of the Himalayas' prize at The Netherlands Himalayas Film Festival. His other film Let the Butterflies Fly, on the life of a transgender won the Best Documentary Award at the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.