Begumpura
The film addresses some pertinent issues related to immigrant communities in Canada. A major challenge of globalization is an increasing number of fragmented families where the mother and children live alone while the father works elsewhere in places with lucrative remuneration and employment opportunities, both across Canada and abroad in countries like Hong Kong, Korea and the Middle East.
This film deals with the social and psychological implications of the unique phenomenon of South Asian immigrant wives / mothers living alone with their children in Toronto while the husbands / fathers stay back or have had to return to better suited and more remunerative job prospects in the Gulf.
The women learn to cope with the help of support groups and through their social network, as many choose to live in close proximity to each other, especially in Mississauga, colloquially known as ‘Begumpura’ (The Wives Colony).
This film will help understand the negative implications of fractured families, forced single parenting, changing marital relationships along with the positive results of the newfound independence and self worth among these women as many come out of the traditionally imposed male shadow. Most of the women have used their time well to better their professional and personal skills. Despite their trials and tribulations, most families choose to stay and seek utopia for their progeny in Canada.
The film portrays the network, camaraderie and underlying pathos in the lives of these ‘Begums’, an experience shared by Rashmi, the Director and also a Gulf wife / mother living alone with her daughter. These women have spent varying lengths of time in Canada, primarily to be with their children through their schooling years. However, a common thread running through these stories is the frustration, loneliness and burden of coping with a dual role due to the absence of the husband and father figure. The long distance communication across time zones is tiring, cumbersome and limited.