“She was the one in the side of the picture. The one whose story it wasn’t.”
“My name is Ritu, but that’s by the way. Dil se I’m Sandra from Bandra.”
“The fundamental duty of every guy was that you had to get wheels, heavy gogs and then you could get a Bandra chick.”
“Maybe Sandra isn’t in Bandra anymore. But there’s a little bit of Sandra in each one of us.”
“What is your name?” “Sandra” “Where do you live?” “Bandra” “What do you eat?” “Bangda” “How do you walk?” “Langda”
Where’s Sandra?
a playful search for that stereotypical Bombay catholic girl
Docufiction | 18 min | English | India | 2005
Catholic girls in dresses are often called Sandra from Bandra in Bombay. Some say it with affection. Some say it with contempt. But who’s Sandra? If you saw her would you know her? Is she naughty or is she nice? And where is she anyway?
This film takes a playful look at the figure of “Sandra from Bandra” – part covetous fantasy of the racy Christian girl from Bombay who works as a secretary, wears a dress and likes to dance; part condescending stereotype of a dowdy, religious girl from a minority community. The film searches for this Sandra in Bollywood films, in the words of writers and poets, on the gravestones in Bandra’s churchyard.
We encounter various claimants to the title – some who aren’t from Bandra and some who aren’t even called Sandra. Finally we find 5 women who really are Sandra from Bandra, each as different from the other as can be even if they are all a little bit the same in a film that shows us why Christian women are an important part of Bombay’s history.
Festivals
- Persistence/Resistance
- Film South Asia, Kathmandu
- Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle
- River to River Film Festival, Florence
- Vibgyor Film Festival, Thrissur
- Mumbai International Film Festival
- Lille 3000
BUY WHERE’S SANDRA? – INDIA / INTERNATIONAL
Producer
Celebrate Bandra Trust
Director
Paromita Vohra
Camera
Avijit Mukul Kishore
Editing
Jabeen Merchant & Sankalp Meshram
Sound
Anita Kushwaha
Category
Films