22nd February 2009 saw India making history. Indian cinema had its date with the world at large. The 81st Academy Awards held in Los Angeles were to stun the world. American director Danny Boyle’s ‘love story cum destiny’ saga based on the streets and slums of Mumbai called ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won an astonishing 10 Oscars. The unique movie experience combined with the off-beat and innovative music composed by A R Rehman drew rave reviews and attracted instant global media attention. It was, as they say, an instant rage.
But somewhere behind all the hullabaloo and the ‘slumdog frenzy’, another success story got lost. 22nd February made India proud not just because ‘Slumdog’ hit the jackpot but also because another film based in India stood victorious among 4 others in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category at the Oscars. The film was a 39 minute short film about a girl from Central India born with a lip deformity and the problems she faced because of it. The film did not get its due in terms of media attention probably because it shared center stage with a movie that has captured the global viewer’s attention like very few have in the recent past.
The short film called ’Smile Pinky’ is a real-life story about a 6 year old girl named Pinky. Pinky hails from the Dabai village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ahura district. She is born with a cleft lip-a lip deformity. The villagers treat like a social outcast. She is denied the normal life of a child and has to face ignominy and shame at every step. After years of hardship and pain, she finally gets help from a social reforms group who cure her lip deformity. Pinky Sonkar, from Mirzapur played herself in the film directed by Megan Mylan.
The villagers from Pinky’s village, desperately praying for the success of the movie, were thrilled to bits when they heard the news. Nirmala Devi, Pinky’s mother was ecstatic. Today, after Pinky has undergone corrective lip surgery, she has begun to lead a normal life. She can mingle and mix with the villagers and enjoy the joys of her childhood. Pinky stands rescued.. almost re-born. But, even now there are thousands of other Pinky’s who are yet to lead life on their own terms. Children, who, for no fault of theirs are forced to bear the brunt of society’s cruel ways and see their life shatter into innumerable pieces right in front of their eyes. There is an urgent need to reach out to all those Pinky’s. There is a need to ensure that these Pinky’s are not ostracized. That they are treated fairly and equally like all the other children are. And that they are amalgamated with the rest of the society at large. There is also, an urgent need to make available the technology and the modern facilities that corrective lip surgeries demand, to even the most far-flung areas and villages of this country.
‘Smile Pinky’ has ensured that such needs will not be overlooked. It has given us hope that children with lip deformities will not be forgotten, that they will be cared for.. nurtured. Megan Mylan picked one of thousands of examples from the villages of India and highlighted her plight. In a way, he portrayed a mere pixel of society but in return gave back a whole photograph of the society, to society. Through the movie, he has drawn an action plan and implored the people of this country to adhere to the chartered course. We need to get up, shake off our lethargy and get down to business. Let all the other unfortunate Pinky’s smile!
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