Vibha Bakshi

Vibha Bakshi (Hindi: विभा बक्शी; born 23 September 1970) is an Indian filmmaker, journalist, and founder of Responsible Films. She is known for her films that highlight issues of gender inequality. She is the recipient of four National Film Awards from the President of India. In 2018, Vibha was awarded the Honorary doctorate degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from her alma mater Boston University for her work as a journalist and filmmaker.[1] She was the commencement speaker at Boston University's School of Communications.

Vibha Bakshi
Vibha Bakshi
Born (1970-09-23) September 23, 1970
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
Education
Alma mater
OccupationFilmmaker
Known for
Spouse(s)Vishal Bakshi
Children2
Parents
  • Ved Chhabra (father)
  • Geeta Chhabra (mother)
Awards4 National Film Awards
HonoursHonorary doctorate degree, Doctor of Humane Letters

Vibha’s most notable films as both director and producer include Daughters of Mother India and Son Rise. Both films are winners of the National Film Awards from the President of India.[2]

Early life

Vibha was born on 23 September 1970 in Mumbai, India. Her father, Ved Chhabra, is a businessman and was named among the Top 100 business leaders by Forbes in 2018[3][4], and her mother Geeta Chhabra, is a poet and writer. Vibha attended Convent of Jesus and Mary and St Xaviers College, Mumbai. She went to the United States for her undergraduate study in Journalism and Broadcasting. She graduated with a Bachelor of science degree in Communication from Boston University in 1993[1] and completed a diploma course on broadcasting at New York University in 1999.[5][6]

Career

Vibha started her career in broadcast journalism with Plus Channel, Mumbai. She later joined CNBC (India) as part of GE's founding team.[7]

In 2004, Vibha Bakshi became co-producer with Oscar winner Maryann DeLeo. Their films include Terror at Home (2005) for Lifetime TV and was part of the United States Government's Emmy Award-winning campaign to stop violence against women - and HBO's film Too Hot NOT to Handle (2006) on the issue of Global warming. [8][5]

Vibha’s work includes short films on the jewel palaces of India for Taj Hotels, including for Falaknuma Palace,[9] Lake Udaipur Palace,[10] Umaid Bhawan Palace, and Rambagh Palace.[11]

Vibha's film for the Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata, a ₹400 crore philanthropy initiative funded by Tata Trusts and led by Ratan Tata, was aired across 29 channels in India in English and 9 regional languages.

Vibha directed and produced the Women Safety Campaign for the Mumbai Police in 2015. She was felicitated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis for this work.[12]

Daughters of Mother India

Vibha’s film Daughters of Mother India, won the 62nd National Film Awards in 2015 for Best Film on Social Issues.[13][14] As director and producer, she received two awards from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. National Film Awards Jury described the film for turning the spotlight on the burning issue of rape and gender violence in the country. The film had a prime-time simulcast release in India across Viacom 18's 10 channels in 8 languages, a first for a documentary film in India.[15][16][17]

In 2017, Global Creative Index rated Daughters of Mother India as the Most Awarded PR Program in the World. Vibha's film was nominated at the Cannes Glass Lions award for 'Media Advocacy that Changed the World'. Daughters of Mother India was screened for over 1,50,000 officers of the Indian Police Force as a gender-sensitization and training tool for the Police to deal with gender-related crimes. It has also been incorporated into the curriculum of 200 schools in Maharashtra.[12][5]

Daughters of Mother India was selected as the opening film at the Indian Panorama during the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), held in November 2015 in Goa. The festival was hosted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Directorate of Film Festivals.[18]

Son Rise

Vibha's film Son Rise won the 66th National Film Awards for Best Film Non-Feature and Best Editing Non-Feature for which Vibha won two National Film Awards as director and producer.[19] The film was inspired by United Nation's HeForShe mandate that gender equality can only be achieved if men and boys are a part of the struggle. The film was unveiled by United Nations Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka[20] followed by screenings by Consulates and Embassies of the World in India.[21][22]

Son Rise was the official selection for the Indian Panorama section at the 50th International Film Festival of India, Goa.[23]

The film also won the Jury award for Best Documentary at the Mumbai International Film Festival.[24]

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef(s)
201562nd National Film AwardsBest Film on Social IssuesDaughters of Mother IndiaWon[25]
2016The Cannes Glass Lions awardMedia AdvocacyDaughters of Mother IndiaNominated[5]
New York Indian Film FestivalBest documentaryWon[26]
CAM International Film FestivalDocumentary Film categoryWon[27]
New Zee Indian Women AwardsEntertainmentWon[28]
Gold SteviePR Compaign of The YearWon[29]
The Cannes Glass Lions awardCrisis and Urgency PRNominated[30]
South Asia SABRE AwardsPublic Affairs & Government RelationsWon[31]
2017Mumbrella Asia AwardsBravery categoryDaughters of Mother IndiaWon[32]
Spikes Asia AwardsCrisis Communication & Issue ManagementWon[33]
201966th National Film AwardsBest Film Non-FeatureSon RiseWon[34]
Best Editing Non-FeatureWon[34]
2020MIFF AwardsBest Documentary FilmSon RiseWon[35]

Personal life

Vibha is married to Vishal Bakshi, former Goldman Sachs Head Private Equity India[6] and now founder of Private Equity firm Avatar Growth Capital Partners.[36] Vibha and her husband Vishal have two boys, Varun and Vir.[37]

References
  1. Haziq, Saman (27 October 2017). "'Don't change the world, be the change'". Khaleej Times.
  2. D'Mello, Yolande. "We saw women cops get emotional". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. Chowdhury, Farhana (23 November 2017). "Specialists of a niche genre". Khaleej Times.
  4. Maceda, Cleofe. "Revealed: Top Indian business leaders in Arab world". Gulf News. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. Volmers, Eric (26 January 2017). "Documentary Daughters of Mother India tackles horror with hope". Calgary Herald.
  6. "rediff.com US edition: 'A terrible visa which inherently isolates women'". Rediff.com. 19 April 2001.
  7. D’Cruz, Dolcy (20 November 2019). "A world of gender equality". Herald Goa.
  8. Bhandaram, Vishnupriya (8 March 2016). "Daughters of Mother India: Vibha Bakshi's documentary is an exploration of why our society keeps failing women". Firstpost.
  9. "The Enchanting Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad". Taj Hotels.
  10. "Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur". Taj Hotels.
  11. "Experience the Life at Rambagh Palace, Jaipur". Taj Hotels.
  12. "'Daughters of Mother India' in syllabus of 200 Maharashtra schools". Business Standard. 28 April 2015.
  13. Mohanka, Payal (4 January 2016). "'Daughters of Mother India' Breaks the Silence on Gender Violence". The Quint.
  14. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (26 March 2015). "Documentary about gang rape wins Indian national film award". The Guardian.
  15. Bangs, Molly (4 December 2015). "Documentary Teaches Indian Police The Reality Of Reporting Rape". HuffPost.
  16. Nyay, Bushan (15 December 2015). "India's Viacom18 to Air Doc on Delhi Gang Rape Case Aftermath". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. Kumar, Anuj (17 December 2015). "Finding hope amidst hysteria". The Hindu.
  18. "'Cinemawala', Nirbhaya docu opens Indian Panorama film fest". The Indian Express. 18 January 2016.
  19. Mitra, Shilajit (11 August 2019). "Filmmaker Vibha Bakshi wins National Award for her documentary 'Son Rise'". The New Indian Express.
  20. Ghosh, Labonita (10 February 2019). "Heartland heroes". Ahmedabad Mirror.
  21. Joshi, Namrata (25 April 2019). "Consulates to host screening of Son Rise". The Hindu.
  22. "Mumbai consulates came together to support Vibha Bakshi's Son Rise". The New Indian Express. 5 May 2019.
  23. "A World of Gender Equality". 20 November 2019.
  24. "MIFF Awards 2020".
  25. Chatte, Sachin (24 November 2015). "Cinema as an educative medium". The Navhind Times.
  26. Maskeri, Anju (3 May 2015). "The conspiracy of silence has been broken: Vibha Bakshi". Mid Day.
  27. "'Daughters of Mother India' Wins First Prize at CAM International Film Festival". India West. 1 November 2016.
  28. "Indian Women Awards Categories, Zee Women Awards 2016 Categories". zeenews.india.com.
  29. "Public Relations Awards Winners | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com.
  30. "Cannes Lions 2016: Four Indian entries vie for glory in the Glass Lions shortlist - ET BrandEquity". The Economic Times.
  31. "Daughters Of Mother India Takes Top Honors At 2016 South Asia SABRE Awards".
  32. Dickinson, Eleanor (23 February 2017). "Mumbrella Asia Awards winners 2017". Mumbrella Asia.
  33. "Spikes Asia Awards". Spikes Asia. pp. 237–281.
  34. "National Awards Winners 2018: Complete list of winners of National Awards 2018". Times of India.
  35. "MIFF Awards 2020 | Mumbai International Film Festival". miff.in.
  36. Balakrishnan, Reghu (29 June 2016). "Vishal Bakshi quits Goldman Sachs to set up private equity business". Mint (newspaper).
  37. Saha, Pashupati (2 January 2016). "An attempt to change". The Statesman.
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