Nalini By Day, Nancy By Night
By Suneetha

Nalini By Day, Nancy By Night. Split personality? Subterfuge?  No! This was a 27 minute documentary, in 2003 by Sonali Gulati, on the Call Centre scenario, told from the perspective of an Indian immigrant living in the USA. The film went on to win many awards and be appreciated across the globe. Techgoss talks to Ms. Gulati about NDNB and her life after the award winning film.

It all started with a telemarketer called Harry calling her from New Delhi and getting her name right. Sonali flew across to India and took in the world of call centres; which was an eye opener to her. This was in 2003 and she soon found herself thinking about the issue in a quite involved manner. And it went on to prompt her into making Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night.

Two statements sum the film up. She says in the film, "Here I was, an Indian living in America with an Indian name and accent, seeing other Indians living in India with American names and accents. Ironically, we were all living as per Eastern Standard Time". The blurb on her DVD says "The film incorporates animation, live action, and archival footage to explore the complexities of globalization, capitalism, and identity."

Techgoss (TG): How did you find the real people for the documentary and where are the characters now?
Sonali Gulati (SG): Actually the film does not have a main lead character at all. It has several people in it and unfortunately I don't have any of their contact information. I met them while I was at the call centres -- many of them have either shut down or been bought over. I also met several people through naukri.com, they had a division called Quadrangle that interviewed candidates for these jobs and screened them for clients. So I met a lot of people through that division. Then I met people who were taking English speaking classes at Hero Mindmine in Delhi. I shot the film in 2003-2004, quite a time ago.

TG: How big did "Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night" finally turn out to be over the years?
SG: It has screened at over 100 film festivals including the prestigious Margaret Mead Film Festival and the Black Maria Film Festival. The film has won numerous awards and has screened on public television in the US and on cable television in India, North Africa, Canada, and Europe. More information about the film, the exhibitions, and the awards is listed at this link

TG: How differently would you make the same movie today?
SG: I would probably have followed one character over an extended period of time, if I had to do it all over again.

TG: What is your current project?
SG: I've just finished making a personal documentary titled "I Am" about gay and lesbian people living in India and how their families come to understand and accept them. The film has been accepted at 6 film festivals so far and will be screening in the following cities, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Vancouver, Munich, Zurich, and Tel Aviv.

Techgoss note: Sonali is an Associate Professor with the Department of Film & Photography at the Virginia Commonwealth University. She is not just a highly regarded film-maker with eight films on various social concerns under her belt, but also a feminist, an educator and a grass-roots activist who is one of the organisers of Delhi’s first gay parade. Check out her various films at sonalifilm.com