Tale of a woman’s transformation

Saanvri is the story of a woman who fights to emerge from the folds of subjugation and exploitation with focus on her advancement, without compromising her dignity.

The book authored by Vinod Pande and published by Niyogi Books was launched in the august presence of eminent film director Mahesh Bhatt and theatre and screen actor Joy Sengupta, recently.

After the unveiling of the book Bikash De Niyogi, Managing Director, Niyogi Books introduced the two filmmakers. Taking the stage, Pande, in his speech, came out honestly about venturing into writing. He said, “In the moment when you are trying to search your entire being what the devil to do, you suddenly find that there are no calls. Then you have to do something. You try to reinvent yourself. What is it that you can do?”

He also said, “Along that journey of writing, it occurred to me that there is an achievement to it, so I started writing ‘Don’s Wife’. I gained my courage through it. ‘Saanvri: The Story of a Concubine’ was born after. The nicest thing that happened is you get a sense of fulfilment that whatever you want to say, you say.”

Mahesh Bhatt, in his speech, greeted Pande’s new venture, with warmth, calling him a friend and “once my rival”. He said, “We began our journey almost at the same time. After he had made Ek Baar Phir in 1979, he was making Yeh Nazdeekiyan in 1982 and I was making Arth the same year. He was the whizz-kid from BBC.”

He lauded Pande’s truthful confession calling writing “a refuge”. After the filmmakers had had their say, Joy Sengupta read several sections of the book to the audience. The story of the novel is set in a small North Indian town, where  one night, a nurse disappears while visiting a patient. The police smell abduction, but there is no demand for ransom. The CBI and police are at their wit’s end when the mysterious layers of the story begin to unfold through the painful reflections of the ones closest to the protagonist. 

What emerges is a moving saga of a young girl of the Nat tribe... Saanvri’s tale is about decadence in high places of power; the story of a woman who learns to use the wanton carnality in men, both as a means of material gratification and a weapon for ascendancy, in a society that uses and abuses her. It is also about the three most important people in her life, all of who use her with impunity—the one she wed, the one she loved and the one she chose to manipulate with unbridled impudence—paving the way for her unique transformation, from a victim to an exploiter.

The book not only mirrors the degenerative fault lines of our society but also points at its rotting value system, highlighting the present day society, where pelf and power is the solitary goal, and which uses sexuality as a weapon for ascendance.

Pande is most well known as the producer, writer and director of the Hindi film Ek Baar Phir, and acclaimed TV serials ‘Air Hostess’ and ‘Reporter’.