Currently producing a community art podcast about health and rights during the #COVID19 pandemic The group is run by the Chhara youth.
A theatre troupe from one of India's most marginalized and oppressed communities: the Chhara of Ahmedabad. The Chhara are one of over 192 Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT) communities, over sixty million people, still suffering the stigma of having been labeled "Criminal Tribes" by the British. The Group was founded with help from the famous writer Mahasweta Devy and Adivasi activist Dr. Ganesh
01/04/2026
The Freedom Theatre in Jenin will close its doors today, Wednesday, 1 April 2026, in commitment to the nationwide general strike across all occupied Palestinian territories, in protest against the law calling for the ex*****on of Palestinian prisoners.
Freedom for Palestinian prisoners.
Freedom for Palestine.
10/03/2025
Ashok goes back from the city to his village with an Agenda. At home he discovers that his parents have chosen a bride for him. Caught between the dual realities of orthodox village life and his progressive city life he struggles to speak his mind.
Join us for the screening of Edpa Kana (Going Home) on 16 March at 3pm at Arthshila Delhi for the screening. The director Niranjan Kumar Kujur will join us for the post screening discussion.
Paandhrya belongs to a nomadic tribe and his family earn their living by performing acrobatic feats. He attends school in spite of the wrath of his reluctant mother who is already fed up with her drunk husband and worries daily about the survival of her little kids. In his school, Paandhrya, an introvert, is moved by a film that shows a mother’s love and culture. With this new found consciousness he starves for the love of his mother. He also carries an inferiority complex because of a white scar on his lip which also gave the pet name ‘Paandhrya’.
He is trouble not only to his family but for the whole caste because he is determined to go to school. For this crime he has to face the wrath of his mother, the tribe and society. This moral and social suppression tests his determination. He is cornered by everyone. He doesn’t see any hope. Finally he chooses a path out. He rebels!
Screening at 3.30pm on 16 March 2025 at Arthshila Delhi followed by Q&A with the director Sandeep Mane.
Kiran Khoje Dakxin Chhara Nag Dnt
08/03/2025
Sikkidre Shikari, Ildidre Bhikari (Bird trapper or Beggar) is screening at the Nomad Film Festival at Arthshila Delhi.
The film is a journey that perhaps began decades ago and has been many years in the making. The Hakki Pikkis are a free spirited nomadic tribe who began their wandering many generations ago in the North Western part of the Indian subcontinent.
Over time they traveled through and settled in different states of the country. As they moved, they survived through trapping birds and hunting small game in the forests and selling them in cities and towns along with lucky charms and trinkets. If the trap failed, begging was the next best bet!
Exiled from the forest, reviled by the city, their traditional ways of life outlawed, the Hakki Pikkis share their stories of wit and survival in the film that emerged through a series of community conversations held when we travelled with friends from a settlement in Bannerghatta, Bangalore to other settlements across Karnataka
Join us on 16 March 2025 at 4.30pm for the screening. Madhu Bhushan and Kumuda Sushil from the team will join us for the post screening Q&A.
08/03/2025
📢 WORLD PREMIERE of An Actor 🎥
Behind the scenes from the shooting of 'An Actor' - a film made collaboratively by the participants of our filmmaking workshop and directed by Dakxin Chhara
The film is based on a true story.
Shubham, a special child born into the Chhara Denotified Tribe, harbours a dream of becoming an actor. He finds hope and training in Budhan Theatre, a community-led initiative empowering marginalized voices. Despite enduring extreme poverty, his passion for acting remains undeterred. However, the deep-rooted stigma surrounding his community shuts him out of the education system, leaving him with no choice but to follow in his father’s footsteps as a thief. As he struggles against a destiny shaped by societal prejudice and colonial-era stigma, his story unfolds as a powerful reflection of how dreams are stolen from the oppressed.
Watch the film at 6pm on 16 March 2025 at Arthshila Delhi at the Nomad Film Festival
Have you registered yet for the Nomad Film Festival?
Register here now: https://forms.gle/EA61ftb32DgKKUiEA
02/03/2025
Nomad Movies & Budhan Theatre developed an ambitious training programme for young leaders from marginalised communities, fostering a practice of filmmaking that merges artistic traditions of the communities with arts-based research methods.
The festival is part of the legacy of the Nomad Film Festival, which was first launched in 2016 with the mission of foregrounding the issues faced by Denotified (DNT), Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic tribes.
Register now to watch these films: https://forms.gle/EA61ftb32DgKKUiEA
27/02/2025
📢 We're very excited to announce the Nomad Film Festival 2025 in New Delhi!
📅 13 March 2025
📍 Sri Aurobindo Centre For Arts And Communication
📅 15-16 March 2025
📍 Arthshila Delhi
Register now: https://forms.gle/EA61ftb32DgKKUiEA