''A Narmada Diary'' is a 1995 documentary on the struggle of those adversely impacted by the

Sardar Sarovar Dam The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada River near the town of Kevadiya, in Narmada District, in the Indian state of Gujarat. The dam was constructed to provide water and electricity to the Indian states of Guj ...

project. It was directed by

Anand Patwardhan Anand Patwardhan (; born 18 February 1950) is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while o ...

and Simantini Dhuru and released in 1995. A record from about 1990–1993, of the measures adopted and hardship faced by the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement and the people inhabiting the place affected was presented. The documentary won the Filmfare Award for Best Documentary at the

41st Filmfare Awards The 41st Filmfare Awards were held in 1996. ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'', considered one of the most successful films of Bollywood, and ''Rangeela (1995 film), Rangeela'' led the ceremony with 14 nominations ea ...

, and the Grand Prize at Earth-Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, 1996. It was also named the second best environmental film at the International Video Festival on Science, Society and Development organised by

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

Centre for Development of Imaging Technology The Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, abbreviated as C-DIT, was established by the Government of Kerala in 1988 for the advancement of research, development and training in imaging technology. C-DIT has four groups, each specialis ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

in 1995. In spite of winning the central government's national awards, the film was not allowed to be shown on National television. In a report on ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', a critic wrote that "the film is not free of the cliches that usually pervade Indian documentaries. Patwardhan and Dhuru remain coldly detached to the subject and the account lacks visual ingenuity."

References

1995 films 1995 documentary films Indian documentary films Documentary films about hydroelectricity Dam controversies Films directed by Anand Patwardhan {{environment-documentary-film-stub

See also

References