The evening of their lives seems to be full of light, laughter and love. Together, Sudha Garg, 86, and Radha Rani Sharma, 93, are a picture of what old age should look like. And, that is why they are the subject of Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha, a documentary by their niece and filmmaker Tanuja Chandra. The documentary recently premiered at the Madrid Film Festival.
The sisters live in an old, sprawling house in Lahra village, Uttar Pradesh, and are not bound by either age or the norms society has for elderly women. Almost a decade ago, the two moved to a village after Radha’s husband passed away and Sudha’s disappeared. “The older one has sons and she could have chosen to live with them, but she did not want to,” says Chandra, known for films like Dushman (1998) and Sangharsh (1999), and more recently Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017).
Radha has mostly had a regular life. Sudha, however, had been a little troubled, with her husband absconding, no kids and constant health issues. But she is full of life. She gulps a chocolate late in the night, reads out the headlines to her sister in the morning and wants enough ghee in her food. Living together is a great plan for single women, says Chandra. “They can choose to live alone or they can live with sisters. Sisters are the best. They are great company,” she says.
Chandra places herself in the middle of the documentary as she converses with her buas (paternal aunts), who tell all uninhibitedly. They compare their walkers to chariots and banter over whether it is wise to get a fountain in the yard. They film has its moments of poignancy, but it is mostly light-hearted and warm.
A still from the documentary
What drew Chandra to document the home was the faithful bunch of domestic workers. Despite coming from different faiths, they ensure that every day is almost festive and every festival is joyful. Even the criticisms they get from the aunts are never a cause for discord; together, they are one big happy family. Chandra visited her buas with a crew last year and shot the film over a week.
One intriguing aspect is how religion and caste do not matter in this household. “We live in a world that is full of strife, anger and hatred for each other. So, to see this group laughing and chatting and even gossiping about each other was endearing,” says Chandra. She made a conscious choice not to directly address religion in the film and yet show how they all coexisted. It is there to see and understand, she says.