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{{Short description|Indian documentary filmmaker}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nakul Singh Sawhney
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
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| years_active = 2006-to present
| employer = Independent Documentary Filmmaker
}}

'''Nakul Singh Sawhney''' is an Indian independent documentary filmmaker and cultural activist.<ref>India Retold Dialogues with Independent Documentary Filmmakers in India, Rajesh James, Bloomsbury, 2021</ref> His films have an indepth, intersectional lens that show the impact of caste, class, gender, politics and social justice in South Asia.

He is the founder of [[Chalchitra Abhiyaan]], a film and media collective that trains local people from marginalised communities of North India to report and make films on their issues. They also screen films and news reports in several villages on mobile projectors with hundreds of viewers in addition to running a mobile library.

His upcoming docuseries, 'A Million Churnings' looks at the [[2020-2021 Indian farmers protest|2020-2021 farmers' protest]], the largest and the longest protest in modern world history.

==Early life==

He grew up in Delhi and attended [[Kirori Mal College]] in [[Delhi University]]. He was as active member of Players,<ref>{{cite web|title=Screeing of Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan|url=https://allevents.in/new%20delhi/film-screening-of-%E2%80%9Cizzatnagari-ki-asabhya-betiyaan%E2%80%9D-by-nakul-singh-sawhney/136069496515428|website=Allevents.in}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the dramatic society of the college. He then completed a course in direction at the [[Film and Television Institute of India]], Pune, during 2005–06. Nakul was also actively involved with [[Jana Natya Manch]]. He is the grand nephew of Communist leader [[Satyapal Dang|Satyapal]]

==Notable works==

===Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai===
His film '<ref>{{cite news|title=Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai|url=http://scroll.in/article/707824/documentary-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-revisits-the-riots-that-tore-apart-western-up-in-2013|publisher=Scroll|date=19 Feb 2015}}</ref>''Muzaffarnagar Baaqi hai'' that released in January 2015 is an extensively researched film on the sectarian violence in North India in September 2013, Muzaffarnagar riots, just a few months before the general elections in India. The film<ref>{{cite news|title=Blocked in DU, documentary 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' is a must watch|url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/blocked-in-delhi-university-documentary-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-is-a-must-watch-2408662.html|publisher=First Post|date=27 August 2015}}</ref> traces the economic, communal{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} and sociological<ref>{{cite news|title=sociological|url=http://www.thequint.com/india/2015/08/25/muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-the-riots-werent-just-about-religion|publisher=The Quint|date=26 August 2015}}</ref> fallout of the violence that not just led to religious polarisation for political gains but also displaced hundreds of thousands of people.<ref>Indian Documentary Film and Filmmakers: Practising Independence, Shweta Kishore, Edinburgh University Press, 31-Dec-2018</ref>

The screening of the film was stopped<ref>{{cite news|title=Film on Muzaffarnagar riots that ABVP didn't want us to watch|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/film-on-muzaffarnagar-riots-that-abvp-didn-t-want-us-to-watch/story-k7CJ4j3zsrwzFoSY8zIKlO.html|publisher=The Hindustan Times|date=28 August 2015}}</ref> by right wing fundamentalists from the [[Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad]] in Delhi University on 1 August 2015 where the filmmaker and the organisers including University professors were attacked.<ref>{{cite news|title=attacked|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-abvp-activists-stop-screening-of-documentary-on-muzaffarnagar-riots-at-du-s-kirori-mal-college-2110201|publisher=DNA news|date=1 August 2015}}</ref> Following which over 200 protest screenings<ref>{{cite news|title=Stop us at one place, we'll spring up at a hundred: Nakul Singh Sawhney|url=http://archive.catchnews.com/culture-news/stop-us-at-one-place-and-we-ll-spring-up-at-a-hundred-others-filmmaker-nakul-singh-sawhney-1444390483.html|publisher=Catch news|date=9 October 2015}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> of the film were organised<ref>{{cite news|title=Documentary on Muzaffarnagar riots screened at 60 venues across 50 towns in protest|url=http://twocircles.net/2015aug26/1440530926.html#.V4I1wbh9600|publisher=Two Circles|date=26 August 2015}}</ref> all across the country to mark dissent<ref>{{cite news|title=Stuck between censors and thugs|url=http://www.thehoot.org/free-speech/censorship/stuck-between-censors-and-thugs-8879|publisher=The Hoot|date=25 August 2015}}</ref> and support freedom of expression<ref>{{cite news|title=Filmmaker Nakul Singh Sawhney talks about the making of his stirring film on the 2013 UP riots|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Filmmaker-Nakul-Singh-Sawhney-talks-about-the-making-of-his-stirring-film-on-the-2013-UP-riots/articleshow/49301513.cms|work=The Times of India|date=10 October 2015}}</ref> in India.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fascism is at India's doorstep|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/theatre/Nakul-Singh-Sawhney-Fascism-is-at-Indias-doorstep/articleshow/49300897.cms|work=The Times of India|date=10 October 2015}}</ref> [[Suicide of Rohith Vemula|Rohith Vemula]], a Dalit PHd scholar, also screened the film in Hyderabad Central University on 4 August 2015 for which he was termed 'anti-national'.<ref>{{cite news|title=The director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' questions the logic behind terming Rohith Vemula 'anti-national' and 'casteist'|url=http://video.scroll.in/802686/the-director-of-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-questions-the-logic-behind-terming-rohith-vemula-anti-national-and-casteist|publisher=Scroll|date=29 January 2016}}</ref>

The film has been extensively screened<ref>Things That Can and Cannot Be Said, John Cusack and Arundhati Roy, Penguin books Limited, 2016</ref> and appreciated<ref>{{cite news|title=Violence frame by frame|url=http://himalmag.com/violence-frame-frame-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai/|publisher=Himal Southasia|date=1 June 2015}}</ref> in India and screened abroad<ref>{{cite news|title=Film Screening, followed by a discussion with Director Nakul Singh Sawhney: Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai [Muzaffarnagar, Eventually]|url=http://home.columbia.edu/event/film-screening-followed-discussion-director-nakul-singh-sawhney-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-muzaff|publisher=Columbia University|date=28 March 2016}}</ref> including MIT, Columbia School of Journalism, SOAS,<ref>{{cite web|title=A screening of Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai|url=https://www.soas.ac.uk/south-asia-institute/events/24feb2015-a-screening-of-muzaffarnagar-baaqi-hai-.html|publisher=University of London}}</ref> NYU and others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Free Screening, Discussion with Director of 'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai,' April 13|url=http://www.ohio-forum.com/page/3/|publisher=Ohio University}}</ref> It was also selected by [[Mumbai International Film Festival]] and the [[International Film Festival of Kerala]].

This film was hosted on [[Netflix]] for three years.

===Izzatnagri ki Asabhya Betiyan===
His film 'Izzatnagri ki Asabhya Betiyan' (Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour) released in January 2012 traces the resistance of young women<ref>Handbook of Pragmatics, Jef Verschueren, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2020</ref> against honour killings and diktats of clan councils called [[Khap]] Panchayats in North India.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Unbelongers|url=http://www.caravanmagazine.in/arts/unbelongers|publisher=Caravan Magazine|date=1 September 2012}}</ref> The film explores caste, class and gender<ref>Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens, Uma Chakravarti, Sage Publications, 2018</ref> intersectionality in contemporary India.<ref>{{cite news|title=Izzatnagari ki Asabhya Betiyan: A reel take on real honour killings|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/izzatnagari-ki-asabhya-betiyan-a-reel-take-on-real-honour-killings/917139/|publisher=The Indian Express|date=25 February 2012}}</ref> Another version of the same film 'Immoral Daughters' has been screened<ref>{{cite news|title=Events|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/nyregion/events-in-connecticut-for-oct-12-18-2014.html|work=The New York Times|date=12 October 2014}}</ref> at several international film festivals.

===Savitri's Sisters at Azadi Kooch===
A short documentary on the how two Dalit women, Laxmiben and Madhuben, from rural Gujarat march to reclaim the land that rightfully belongs to Dalits, a community subjected to untouchability practices and acute socio-economic marginalisation . Released in 2017. Screened at Oxford University, Göttingen University, and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/they-sang-through-dark-times-nakul-singh-sawhneys-latest-documentary-savitris-sisters|title = They Sang through the Dark Times: Nakul Singh Sawhney's Latest Documentary Savitri's Sisters|date = 5 September 2017}}</ref>

===Kairana, After the Headlines===
The film tries to look at the town of Kairana beyond the externally imposed binaries of Hindu-Muslim, and tries instead to look at the real issues that confronts the town. Released in 2016. Screened at several universities in India and globally<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/newsdetail/index/9/8846/kairana-after-the-headlines-a-bold-film-that-gives-the-villager-a-voice|title = Kairana "After the Headlines": A Bold Film That Gives the Villager a Voice}}</ref>

===With a Little Help from my Friends===
He directed his first film in 2005, 'With a Little Help from my Friends', which won the award for the 2nd best film at the 60 Seconds to Fame film festival in Chennai{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}.

===Other works===
At the Film Institute, he directed a short film, 'Agaurav' starring [[Divyenndu|Divyendu Sharma]] and [[Jaideep Ahlawat]] and 'Undecided' that won awards for the 2nd Best Film and Best Director respectively at the Hyderabad International Film Festival{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}. After completing his course, he made a feature-length documentary 'Once upon a time in Chheharta' on the history of the working class movement and the mill workers of Chheharta under the leadership of Communist leaders [[Satyapal Dang|Satyapal]] Dang and [[Vimla Dang]], Amritsar.

He is also a commentator on Indian politics and has appeared on [[The Quint]], The Mojo Story, [[NDTV]], [[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] and written for [[The New Indian Express]], DailyO, Caravan and others.

He is married to award-winning journalist [[Neha Dixit]]

===Chalchitra Abhiyaan===
{{Main|Chalchitra Abhiyaan}}

He founded Chalchitra Abhiyaan in 2016.<ref>https://www.sbcltr.in/how-chalchitra-abhiyaan-gives-you-a-glimpse-into-real-india/</ref> This film and media collective trains local people from marginalised communities in film technologies.<ref>Communicating for Social Change Meaning, Power, and Resistance, Dazzelyn Baltazar Zapata, Springer Singapore, 2018</ref> The collective produces a range of video-based content prime among which are short-document films, news features, and live broadcasts. The goal is try to bring to the fore local issues from the grassroots that concern different marginalised communities in their own voices. The collective also organizes film and video screenings including international cinema and news features in remote villages in North India.<ref>Contemporary Radical Film Culture Networks, Organisations and Activists, Taylor & Francis, 2020</ref> It is followed by debate and discussion on the topic. Attended by hundreds of people weekly, this has built a regular, large offline viewership. They also run a mobile library in several villages of West UP.

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Film
|-
| 2017 || Savitri's Sisters in Azaadi Kooch
|-
| 2016 || Kairana, After the Headlines
|-
| 2015 || Muzaffarnagar Baaqi hai/Muzaffarnagar Eventually
|-
| 2012 || Izzatnagri Ki Asabhya Betiyan/Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour
|-
| 2010 || Once Upon a Time in Chheharta
|-
| 2007 || Agaurav
|-
| 2005 || With A Little Help From Friends
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawhney, Nakul}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Censorship in India]]
[[Category:Indian documentary film directors]]
[[Category:Film and Television Institute of India alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Indian civil rights activists]]

Nakul Singh Sawhney - Revision history

Eziosolution at 06:48, 17 March 2026