SENSEX
NIFTY
GOLD
USD/INR

Weather

image 11    C

Chennai News

News

Chennai / The New Indian Express

details

Royals of the road

At the crack of dawn, at Pattinapakkam Beach, Mohana akka and Leela akka , sit cross-legged on the sand, wearing khaki shirts, sharing fried fish and laughter. The waves crash steadily, drowning out the relentless rhythm of traffic and horns that usually define their days. For that moment, the city loosens its grip. Their friendship and leadership anchor the Veera Pengal Munnetra Sangam (VPMS), the first union of women auto drivers in India. Their story is the heart of Auto Queens, a short documentary directed by Sraiyanti Haricharan, which recently premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). For a film built closely on Chennais streets and rooted in the everyday rhythms of working-class women, the global reception came as a surprise. We didnt know whether the story would even connect to people who are not from Chennai or from India, Sraiyanti says. Yet all six screenings were sold out, and audiences laughed and clapped in real time. More than anything, we were able to break a cultural barrier, she reflects, attributing the impact entirely to the presence and honesty of the two women who lead the film. Though the story holds layers of systemic struggle, from harassment to the fight for public space, Sraiyanti believes narratives about women drivers are too often reduced to hardship. For her, it was important that the film did not feed into stereotypes that paint women who enter male-dominated spaces as broken or continuously battling tragedy. If we go down that route of physical or sexual abuse, it becomes a different film altogether. All the women of VPMS are vocal about it on their own. They dont need me as the filmmaker to give that voice, she says. Instead, the film centres on resilience, solidarity, humour and everyday joy. Sraiyanti spent months with the women before filming, shooting over sixteen days across a year and a half, letting their personalities shape the film organically. A significant part of the storytelling lies within their private world, away from roads and traffic signals. The film captures Mohana and Leela scrolling through songs, recording TikTok videos, singing aloud without hesitation, and speaking candidly within the safety of friendship. For Sraiyanti, documenting these moments was non-negotiable. When we are in the company of someone we feel safe with, especially another woman, we show a different side. We are not as free in the outside world, she explains. Though deeply intimate, the visuals are expansive. The sweeping aerial shots of Chennai contrasted with cramped auto interiors, creating both scale and suffocation. We realised we were close to the characters, but not close to the city, says Sraiyanti, explaining how wide shots became a metaphor for a city that appears vast yet offers little room for women to exist freely. Diegetic radio ads about women fertility centres, loan schemes, motherhood slogans expose the gap between symbolic celebration of women and their lived realities. It was a good tool to show how shallow we can be in celebrating women, she reflects. As for the women at VPMS, their first reaction to the rough cut was disbelief that anyone would want to watch their everyday life unfold on screen. Today, with a local theatre screening planned, excitement is building, the kind of celebration that holds more meaning than any international applause. Through Auto Queens, Sraiyanti wants viewers to understand that a union is not a threat but an extension of companionship: as simple as two people building strength together for collective rights. She hopes the film encourages support for VPMS, especially in their continuing need for vehicles, funding and safety infrastructure. Personally, she describes the process as the happiest shoot of her career and influenced even her own political understanding. In recent years, pink autos and female-driven vehicles have become a familiar sight seen by some as symbols of empowerment, by others with pity, and often judged simply for daring to claim space. As they navigate traffic, they carry more than passengers; they carry the weight of expectations and resistance. In this moment, Auto Queens reminds us that their journey is about more than driving; it is about reshaping who belongs in public space, and who gets to move freely through a city not designed for them.

29 Nov 2025 6:00 am