Inside the blue world

Nonika Singh

In a country where sex itself is a taboo subject, who can dare to talk of porn and bring it in public space? This gutsy filmmaker Madhureeta Anand, whose web series Know Your Porn is all set to hit the net around June.

For those raising eyebrows at the choice of subject, well, the woman who earned plaudits for her last film Kajarya (about female foeticide) is no less serious while handling the volatile issue of porn. The very reason why she decided to go where no woman would dare to, is, “Indians have become voracious porn consumers without understanding the havoc it can play in their lives.”

Unlike Kamlesh Vaswani, who filed a PIL against porn sites, she is not against porn per se. Nor does she think that banning is an answer to any problem. Rather understanding it in all its ramifications is. So, she will decode the dynamics of porn in a five-part series.

Interestingly, while her film has no room for porn clips, she has even dispensed away with the interview format.

Just as porn is a largely visual medium, so will be her series where placards and other visual material will tell the viewers whatever they need to know. Rest assured, she is not creating a training manual on how to watch porn. Instead, it will delve into significant aspects such as what is illegal, why child porn could put your child to risk, how much of what they see is not real, actually the long and short of it, et al.

Many may not be able to fathom how a film on porn can be educative, and many did try to dissuade her too. But she says, “Days of slut-shaming are over.”

So anyone trying to cast aspersions is on a slippery ground. She stands firm and clear on what she intends to do: who are her target groups, and where she would upload her series.

To ensure that commercial constraints don’t waylay the seriousness of her endeavour, she has gone in for crowdfunding to raise money. Since most of the porn emanates from social networking groups like WhatsApp, the series will follow the same route and be available for free. Without being didactic, the two and a half minute duration of each capsule might seem too short an interval, but she wants to get out of the viewers’ minds before they are bored.

But what she has to say, she is positive will stay with them. Fact-based, her infotainment series will be widely circulated and followed up with campaigns for which she has several NGOs working with men on board. While most makers merely circle around forbidden subjects, never quite addressing the issue at hand in entirety, she will neither be squeamish, nor sleazy for that matter. On porn ground, she will hold hers, not a mean task in a society that puts up a Victorian face in public and quite another in private. Brace yourselves for her porn attack which, by the way, will make no sweeping statements such as porn leads to sexual crime, etc. Meant only to help you navigate through the world of porn, it just might make you echo what Ranbir Kapoor said in Koffee with Karan, “Porn is unhealthy and not recommended.” Judging by her interest and intent, Madhureeta’s series, however, might make it to the highly recommended grade.