In the small city of Bhuj, two young Muslim women, Sherbanu and Mariya, navigate societal and familial restrictions, carving out fleeting and risky moments of joy in the neighbourhood and city. Their friendship reveals how the public realm means constraints and freedom, where small defiant acts create space for Mauj.
Valai Pinnal
The fisherfolk of Nochikuppam navigate the shifting landscape of their homes in the wake of government interventions. Through myriad acts of preservation of materials, documents and oral knowledge, the film explores the people’s resistance and their relationship to space.
Through The Dappled Light
In Chandigarh’s rigidly planned city, trees offer shade and shelter to informal workers on the margins seeking space and belonging in a city that never planned for their presence.
Fireflies in the Night
In a city where he’s used to being unseen, a trans man joins a midnight walk with queer strangers, where loitering becomes a quiet rebellion against identity erasure. On the other hand, as he rehearses his debut play ‘Beyond the Bodies’, he recollects his erasure and the moments of magic that a community brings.
Manaveeyam
‘Manaveeyam’ traces the life of a small urban street in Kerala’s capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, reclaimed by its people, where social inclusivity, civic responsibility and freedom converge, transforming into an accessible, socially just and inclusive public realm; a blueprint for the future.
Phool Gari (Scent of Nocturn Flowers)
This film aims to explore the quiet transformation of a liminal space beside Barasat railway station, from a morning auto stand to a night flower market and the resilient livelihoods that thrive within its rhythm.
Pascal Premier League
On a narrow street in Jogeshwari East, a group of young boys organise their own mini cricket league—reclaiming a congested public lane for play, joy, and community in a city starved of accessible open spaces.
Hissa
In the rapidly shrinking public spaces of South Bombay, two street barber brothers fight to preserve their dignity, legacy, and humble livelihood, operating on the edge of legality. As the city sanitises its image in the name of progress, we’re forced to ask: are we clearing mess, or erasing mobility?
महाद्वार
Mahadwar – The Great Corridor
Set against the backdrop of a ₹1445 crore redevelopment plan for Kolhapur’s Mahalaxmi Temple, the film explores the emotional and economic ecosystems of Mahadwar Road — a historic market street. Through voices of traders, vendors, and residents, it questions: can public memory survive without physical continuity?
Walls of Expression
Set in Mumbai’s ever-changing urban landscape, this documentary explores how public walls become sites of resistance, memory, and expression, while also revealing the fear, erasure, and control they provoke.
Pakdam Pakdai
In Agra, seemingly designed for cars, children invent playgrounds out of footpaths, medians, and market edges. Pakdam Pakdai scales the city to a child with a child’s eye view of play, resistance, and imagination—where joy collides with heat, traffic, and exclusion, and the city is both a game and a question.
Fragmented Realities
Fragmented Realities captures Kolkata during a time of unrest, where digital and real worlds overlap, revealing collective fear, protest, memory, and quiet hope within a shifting public landscape.
“The city is a product of a state of war between political and economic forces that shape and re-shape the urban landscape.” – Mike Davis1
Cities are often perceived as consequences of planning, geography and economy. We perpetually criticise our cities, in search of more inclusive spaces, but rarely do we acknowledge the powerful role of ‘political ideologies’ in shaping them. To substantiate this statement, we will take two contrasting cities – Kolkata (an old metropolis politically rooted in communist values) and Bengaluru (an emerging metropolis driven by neo-liberal growth), to depict how political worldviews manifest in the urban fabric.
The CPI(M)’s (Communist Party of India-Marxism-Leninism) thirty-two-year rule in Bengal created lasting impacts on the city’s core ideologies. A few of the positive core beliefs which people of Kolkata grew into were ‘sensitivity towards class issues’, ‘preaching for equality’, and ‘active civic participation’. On the other hand, Bengaluru’s neo-liberal transformation started with Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s address to the Bangalore Literary Union in 1953, where he said:
“What makes Americans long-lived, progressive and prosperous”, he continued, “is the planned, disciplined lives they lead. Our activities on the other hand are unplanned, and our behaviour unplanned and inactive.”2
This comparative statement, along with his appeal to the citizens to see themselves as ‘stockholders of the city corporation’ 3 in every municipal engagement, sowed the seeds of the present neo-liberal growth of Bengaluru, inspired by the West.
The Left Front in Kolkata actively resisted the privatisation of urban land, enabling the survival of expansive green spaces like the Maidan, accessible at all times. Its porous edges were a result of ‘proletarian power’, dismantling boundaries and ensuring equal spaces for all.
In contrast, Bengaluru experienced a surge of rapid, unregulated urbanisation, unlike Kolkata’s slow-paced growth. To manage this, the city adopted quick fixes which included – gated parks, walled/fenced green spaces and controlled access points with regulated timings and activities.
Left Photo Credit: S. K. Dinesh Lalbagh’s Boundary Wall- Non-porous and greenery unseen to the public
Right Photo Credit: Google Earth
Urbanisation brings unique challenges for the city’s residents. In response, residents engage, express, and reclaim space to shape and survive the city. Thus, protest becomes a huge outlet for people in voicing and asserting their rights. Protest needs to be witnessed so that every citizen can comprehend and hold hands in the process of justice.
The strong Marxist-Leninist influence is the sole reason why protest is inscribed into Kolkata’s urban fabric. Protest and dissent is viewed as a ‘civic responsibility’.The R.G Kar Protest stands as a testament to this city-wide procession for women’s rights, driven not by propaganda but by a shared sense of justice.
On the other hand, Bengaluru’s Town Hall, once home to powerful public gatherings echoing with resistance songs, has moved towards restraining dissent. After the city-wide protest of Anganwadi Workers and Devanhalli Farmers 4, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner issued an order strictly containing all protests at Freedom Park, in a designated parking lot far from the public sight. Outside this zone, protest is classified as ‘civil disobedience’, drawing swift police response. Shaped by the priorities of neo-liberal governance, a city once with a vibrant political voice now struggles with a silenced public sphere.
Left Photo Credit: Bhanu S Citizens of Bengaluru protesting against confining protests to Freedom Park
Right Photo Credit: The Hindu R.G Kar ‘Reclaim the Night’ city-wide protests for women’s safety and rights
Though a riverine city, Kolkata never initially prioritised greenery due to its early urbanisation. Instead, its communist egalitarianism helped make the old streets the citizens’ ‘third space’ 5. Every space available in the exterior capable of holding people (footpath, steps of an old house, underneath a flyover, etc) becomes a place of social exchange. In Correa’s words:
“They have raised disintegration to the level of high art.” 6
The larger question which currently arises is: To what extent can you romanticise the past? This is the dilemma Kolkata is facing in shaping its public spaces for future generations. Spaces once celebrated require thoughtful revival.
In contrast, Bengaluru has been the ‘City of Lakes’ adorned with greenery, formed by encompassing two hundred villages, whose reminiscence is still present in its place names ending with ‘halli’ (village in Kannada, eg., Marathahalli, Baiyyapanahalli, etc). The rapid shift from a low-rise settlement to a high-density urban sprawl, along with the diminishing greens and lakes, makes the future of free public spaces extremely uncertain.
Left Photo Credit: X/@sahana_srik Bizarre restrictions in Public Parks of Bengaluru
Right Photo Credit: Sanat Kr Sinha Hawkers occupy the entire stretch of the footpath – no pedestrian pathways in College Street, Kolkata
A shift in political ideology exposes huge vulnerabilities in its civic spaces. The ongoing tension of the Left versus Right creates a state of duality with disjointed experiences in the city of Kolkata. Whereas, unchecked rapid neo-liberal expansion is eroding equity in Bengaluru’s public spaces.
Thus, the design of our cities cannot remain apolitical. Political indulgences are necessary to create rooted spaces which are inclusive, honouring the past, responding to the present, and accommodating the future of our cities.
“The street is a room of agreement.”1 Kahn’s quip at his AIA Gold Medal acceptance speech holds as true today as it did in 1971.
The quintessential Indian street is methodical madness personified. Heisenberg’s (1927) ‘Atomic Uncertainty Principle’ largely extends, in hypothesis, to the moving elements of the streetscape – we cannot accurately predict, at any one given moment in time, its exact nature. The street itself is occupied and claimed by numerous other independent actors and self-made processes.2
Unlike the European street model with crystal cut demarcations for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, HMVs, etc., the Indian street also accounts for variables that cannot be monitored so closely. Livestock, street performers, street vendors, rickshaws, automobiles, pedestrians, and the like, all exist in harmonious disarray, moving at mismatched paces. Their coordination is unpractised and indeterminate, yet unanimous and accommodating.
“….there is nothing simple about that order itself, or the bewildering number of components that go into it. Most of those components are specialized in one way or another. They unite in their joint effect upon the sidewalk, which is not specialized in the least. That is its strength.” 3
Herein lies the unspoken agreements of the spaces they intend to occupy to perform their individual process. In this context it’s important to recognise that rules need not be written, nor do they result from formal legal procedures (with respect to informal interactions and space usage).4 When you enter a street, you are inevitably a part of this agreement. Fractional decisions – to swerve, to avoid, to give way, or to participate, exist in the background, and the result of these instantaneous decisions, culminate in the foreground.
The entropy of this “room of agreement” can also be observed over a larger timeline. For instance, over the course of a year, the Indian street transforms from a place of congregation, to annual festival celebrations, mourning, religious processions, etc., on a cyclical timeline.
Man in any civilization, age old, has been either actively or passively contesting for space with his neighbor. Streets are not “public goods” but “rivalrous goods.” Everyone is competing for their own space. This has transformed the Indian street into spatial slices with multiple users at any given moment in time.
How do we account for these known unknowns? The very concept is a paradox! Do we consider these minute interactions on the drawing board when we plan our cities, structure our roads and build our private homes? Are you able to recognise the unspoken agreements that you are a part of?
Fontainhas is a unique case where boundaries between private and public are blurred due to various spatial and social factors. Accredited as a UNESCO Heritage Zone in 1984, the area is known for its colourful Indo-Portuguese houses, narrow lanes, and pedestrian-friendly scale that evoke a ‘slice of European charm in India’. Fontainhas’ charm lies not only in its architectural quality but also in its scale and rhythm of everyday life. What used to be a quaint residential area with 4-5 tourists strolling reflectively is now crowded with 25-40 people at once. Tourists have increased significantly in recent years, transforming the everyday spatial interactions of the area. This contrast of everyday lived-in experience with a curated heritage image for tourism is transforming the area’s public and private boundaries.
Whether privately or publicly owned, spaces tied to heritage hold public significance, but scholars such as Kohn (2004) and Madanipour (2003) challenge this rigid binary of public and private space, suggesting instead a spectrum, where quasi-public spaces emerge1. This is defined as a privately owned area that is designed and managed to function like a public space. Streets and pathways are open and publicly accessible, yet deeply embedded in the private lives of residents. The hidden layers – stepped pathways, sloping alleys, and informal routes known only to residents add to the space’s charm. Small hawkers selling fruits and ice cream crowd the touristy lanes as residents walk to their everyday tasks. This shared use adds to the complexity of the space. According to MoHUA, in a heritage precinct, the legal status of private property can be transformed by designation, effectively making private spaces accessible to the public or subject to public oversight and regulations2.
Tourists in Fontainhas do not engage with private homes directly but through visual means by photographing thresholds and facades, and spatially by loitering outside Balcãos and doorways. The ‘public’ and ‘private’ here become extremely hard to define, but at its core, it’s different user groups’ demand for inclusion in the same space. It becomes necessary to regulate heritage areas towards harmonious and sustainable development3. What is everyday spatial interaction for residents becomes a tourist attraction through its shared but distinct use, transforming private facades into public spectacles. The everyday practices of some residents, like maintaining outdoor gardens and pathways, become an integral part that adds to the publicness of the area. While the public enjoys the aesthetic of the space, the burden of upkeep and inconveniences, such as blocked roads or loss of privacy, falls solely on residents. No incentives are provided to the owners of the heritage houses for maintenance and repairs4. This poses a larger question of who benefits from the heritage. If private spaces are put to public use without public rights and freedom, is it still a public space?
As heritage increasingly narrows its focus on tourism, space risks being frozen in time. This raises critical questions: Who is this heritage for? How does heritage blur the boundary between public and private spaces? The case of Fontainhas highlights the complex interplay of public and private realms. As urban heritage continues to expand, the balance between preservation, public enjoyment, and private life demands thoughtful governance. One that responds both to the rights of residents while acknowledging the cultural value these spaces offer to the wider public. What we need is people-first, adaptive heritage thinking5. We must advocate against freezing places in time. This means recognising that heritage values and contemporary needs are not in conflict, and in the blurring of public and private, it’s the people who make the space.
– Written by Ashmita Gupta, Senior Fellow
Footnotes:
Li, Juan, et al. “Defining the Ideal Public Space: A Perspective from the Publicness.” Journal of Urban Management, vol. 11, no. 4, Sept. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2022.08.005. ↩︎
Chapter-8 Conservation of heritage sites including heritage buildings, heritage precincts and natural feature areas. ↩︎
Conservation of Heritage Areas in the City of Panaji: A Case Study of Fontainhas Area by Shaikh Ali Ahmed, Dr. B. Shankar, IJMER, vol. 2, no. 2, Apr 2012 pp-442-446 ↩︎
The Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act, and The Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulation, 2010 ↩︎
Conservation and the Indian city: Bridging the Gap, edited by Poonam V. Mascarenhas & Vinayak Bharne ↩︎
NAGARI 2025 aims to capture the essence of public spaces in Indian cities. Public space is defined as places that are open and accessible to everyone – this usually includes maidans, gardens, waterfronts, etc. The Indian city often broadens this definition of public space, due to its high density, to include streets, footpaths, markets, alleyways, transport infrastructure, among others. Thus our public spaces are layered by use, scale and activity, varying across days, seasons, groups, and movements. This is the public realm. It is “where a city’s culture is expressed most freely and openly, and it is where the city is at its most democratic, honest, and energetic” (Martin, 2017).
Keeping public space as the central focus, Nagari will examine the complex interactions between people from different castes, classes, age, and gender, as well as address an important question – What are the layers that constitute the public realm in urban India?
Applications for Nagari 2025 are now closed!
Public Realm in Urban India
Click on the image above to learn more about the final films
Click on the image above to learn more about the shortlisted entriesClick on the image above to view the full brief
Whether privately or publicly owned, spaces tied to heritage hold public significance. Fontainhas becomes a unique case where boundaries between private and public are blurred due to various spatial and social factors.
Cities are often perceived as consequences of planning, geography and economy. We perpetually criticise our cities, in search of more inclusive spaces but rarely do we acknowledge the powerful role of ‘political ideologies’ in shaping them.
Deepa’s documentaries and writing that span a period of forty years, engage with questions related to women’s status, political participation and resistance. Her films have been screened and awarded at national and international film festivals, and she has also served on the Jury at National and International film festivals.
Pankaj Rishi Kumar
After graduating from FTII Pune, India, in 1992, with a specialisation in Film Editing, Pankaj was assistant editor on Sekhar Kapur’s ‘Bandit Queen’. He made his first film ‘Kumar Talkies’ in 1998. Pankaj has become a one-man crew- producing, directing, shooting and editing his own films under the banner of Kumar Talkies. His films have been screened at film festivals all over the world. Pankaj also curates and teaches.
Jabeen Merchant
Jabeen Merchant is a film editor trained at the FTII Pune, with a wide experience in the mainstream industry as well as independent, art house cinema. She also teaches filmmaking and consults on scripts. Her work, which includes fiction features, documentaries, web series and short films, has been seen in countries across the world, in festivals and movie halls.
Bina Paul
Bina works mainly in Malayalam-language films. She has over fifty editing credits. Bina won her first National Film Award for Revathi’s ‘Mitr, My Friend’, which had an all-woman crew. She has been the artistic director of the International Film Festival of Kerala and in 2017 she was appointed as one of the heads of “Women Collective in Cinema”.
Sourav Sarangi
Sourav Sarangi is an award-winning film maker from India. He put down his geologist’s hammer to pick up a camera and tell stories. Stories that entertained and informed us, stories that transformed our views. His journey began from Kanthi, a small town in South Bengal, to become a fellow of the Film Independent, LA, in collaboration with The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. National and international film festivals in Berlin, Sydney, Dubai, Locarno, Nyon, Yamagata, Guangzhou, Moscow, Goa, Thessaloniki, Busan, Toronto and many more have premiered and awarded his films. Broadcasters and academic institutions found him a large global audience. “I don’t follow stories, they live in me,” says Sourav.
Rajula Shah
Rajula completed her diploma in Film Direction from FTII, Pune. She holds a masters degree in English Literature. She has been producing/ directing short films since 2000; has worked extensively in film and video, exploring the boundaries of fiction/ non-fiction, photography, video essay, & New Media Practice.
