‘Maa ka Doodh’ documentary wins 4 awards at JIFF including Best Documentary Film

January 11th, 2023

“Maa ka doodh” – a phrase thrown around casually in Bollywood movies where an alpha male is either the one provoking or being provoked to show his physical prowess – is now set to become a phrase that provokes every single Indian.

Titled ‘Maa ka Doodh: Uncovering a Nation’s Dairy Disaster’ (translation: ‘Mother’s Milk’) and directed by animal rights activist Harsha Atmakuri, the documentary got a stellar response at the Jaipur International Film Festival. It won Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Social Message, and the most prestigious – Best Documentary award and rightly so. The movie takes you on a 140 minute long compelling journey through the dairy farms of India, while exposing the abuse, malpractice, and exploitation of mothers for their milk. Yes, mothers. Dairy milk comes from cows because they are mothers to their calves, who lactate just like human mothers do.

Maa ka Doodh is an investigative feature film which explores the complexities involved with dairy farming in India. Harsha has courageously exposed the darkest corners of the dairy industry – lifting the veil of goodness that is strongly associated with milk. To do this, he travelled for 20,000 kilometres across India, for two years, meeting with people who are directly or indirectly associated with dairy. He interviewed scores of dairy farmers, gaushala administrators, gau rakshaks, and restaurant owners.

The screenplay also deserves the accolades it has received. Like pulling a thread from a sweater, the film unravels all the ethical, cultural, religious, economic, and political perspectives that surround dairy. Maa ka Doodh has several shocking sequences that reveal how greed and corruption has given rise to rampant cruelty against cows and buffaloes. It also touches upon the environmental impact of dairy consumption that is almost never spoken about.

Maa ka Doodh expertly lays bare a fact hidden in plain sight – India is one of the largest exporters of beef because it is one of the biggest producers of dairy. Male calves and ‘spent’ cows (cows who can no longer produce milk because their bodies have been exhausted) both are unprofitable for dairy farmers and are therefore sent for slaughter. A scene where male calves are left to die because they are not ‘profitable’ is particularly heart-breaking. Profit breeds malpractice. Other practices that have become a norm are: injecting cows with hormones to increase the yield of milk, overcrowding, lack of medical attention for sick cows, and unhygienic living conditions.

Some prominent personalities were also interviewed for the film. BJP leader and long-time animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi is present throughout, discussing dairy’s abusive practices, negligence towards animals, and hypocrisies of the Indian mentality with regards to cows.

Image Source: Maa Ka Doodh Team

“We are very much excited that the Jaipur International Film Festival has not only taken up a sensitive subject like Maa Ka Doodh to be screened at their festival, but also, giving us  the best documentary award, best director award, best screenplay award and best social message award” says Harsha.

Image Source: Maa Ka Doodh Team

This year marked the 15 th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival and received 282 film entries from 63 countries. The makers of Maa ka Doodh are hoping to bring an end to the suffering of cows and buffaloes in India through this film. It will be available on Youtube for free from 26 th January this year.