Aayi Gayi

When will electricity come?

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61 minutes | Documentary | Anandana Kapur

In Bihar, where “Sarkar mera bada bhai hai…” (The government is my older brother) is the righteous response to why one may illegally acquire electricity connections or not pay bills, a team of academics work on the ground to activate RLSS—the Revenue Linked Supply Scheme—and are met with various degrees of opposition and success. The film explores the complex relationships people have with the State through the lens of electricity. Is it a right? Or is it a commodity? In a country with limited resources, can it be a social right if the government needs funds to keep the grid functional? And if so, can the normalization of non-payment of bills be reversed? Is it possible to create an ideal citizenry?

Nationally, we have surplus electricity. So providing electricity is not a major problem. But the whole problem is how to distribute electricity.
Dr. Shaibal Gupta, Founder Member-Secretary of Asian Development Research Institute
The Best Film on Human Rights
Woodpecker International Film Festival, 2019
Bihar is still a story in the making. But, for many other parts of India where growth remains slow, it now serves as a powerful example of what is possible.
The Economic Times
With engaging background score and brilliant treatment, the film raises a pertinent point. In a country with limited resources, can electricity be a social right?
Jury, Woodpecker International Film Festival
Thank you for telling the story in such a compelling way that I want to learn how it ends.
Sommervile Theatre Audience, 2020
Such a well made documentary! I absolutely loved it. I had never thought of the questions that you had posed even though power cuts were a part of daily life.
Dr. N. Ghosh, United States
Thank you for showing your film. I belong to this state and your images have brought the place alive. This story is incredibly important.
India International Centre Audience Member
When my colleagues and I first came to Bihar, we quickly realized that the central part of the problem was that there is a vicious circle at work. This circle is set off by the norm that electricity should be a right.
Dr. Michael Greenstone, Director - Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago
Camera and Sound

Anandana Kapur

Anandana Kapur

Anandana Kapur is an award winning filmmaker and co-founder of CINEMAD, India. Previously an executive producer for nonfiction programming on TV, she has worked on information and video campaigns for UNICEF, IYF and IEF among others. Her films have received critical acclaim globally and are taught in courses on Gender Justice, Social Development and Innovation. Anandana also teaches courses on Documentary Practice and Researching Media & Culture. Her writings on cinema and popular culture have been published in anthologies and journals. Anandana is also a recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship and the Shastri India Canadian Institute Fellowship for her work on interactive documentary practice. When not filming, she photographs, collects stories, sketches and finds creative excuses to dance.

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Camera and Sound

Subhash Bhanwala

Subhash Bhanwala

Subhash Bhanwala is a celebrated video editor and tech geek. He leads an omnipresent digital life. In one of his avatars he makes film for corporates and brands. His past work has been on Sesame Street, Save the Children, UNDP, TERI, Delhi Daredevils, GMR, Philips, ESPN, Nokia Pepsi, NDTV, Airtel, Apollo Munich and NatGeo. He has also contributed to the visual design of non-fiction narratives on development, culture and entrepreneurship. His interests are in virtual reality and new media.

Camera and Sound

Michael Greenstone

Michael Greenstone

Michael Greenstone is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, the College and the Harris School, as well as the Director of the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago (TCD), the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics, and the interdisciplinary Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He previously served as the Chief Economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he co-led the development of the United States Government’s social cost of carbon. Greenstone also directed The Hamilton Project, which studies policies to promote economic growth, and has since joined its Advisory Council. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Econometric Society, and a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy. Before coming to the University of Chicago, Greenstone was the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at MIT.

Greenstone’s research, which has influenced policy globally, is largely focused on uncovering the benefits and costs of environmental quality and society’s energy choices. His current work is particularly focused on testing innovative ways to increase energy access and improve the efficiency of environmental regulations around the world. Additionally, he is producing empirically grounded estimates of the local and global impacts of climate change as a co-director of the Climate Impact Lab. He also created the Air Quality Life Index that provides a measure of the gain in life expectancy communities would experience if their particulates air pollution concentrations are brought into compliance with global or national standards.

Greenstone received a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University and a BA in economics with High Honors from Swarthmore College.

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Camera and Sound

Anant Sudarshan

Anant Sudarshan

Anant Sudarshan is the Executive Director (South Asia) for the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Economics, University of Chicago. Prior to working at EPIC, Anant was the Giorgio Ruffolo Post-doctoral Fellow in the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He received his PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and he holds undergraduate and masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) and Stanford University respectively. Anant works at the intersection of environmental economics and engineering, with on-going research on a variety of areas including environmental regulation, air-pollution, climate change, energy efficiency, electricity and renewable energy. His present work includes collaboration with India’s Ministry for Environment and Forests to design and evaluate a pilot emissions trading program to regulate industrial air pollution. He is also working with the Government of Bihar on electricity distribution reforms designed to reduce losses and enhance the supply of power.

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Camera and Sound

Sam Ori

Sam Ori

Sam Ori is the Executive Director at Tata Centre for Development (TCD), the Energy Policy Institute at UChicago (EPIC), and the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to reducing American oil dependence in order to enhance economic and national security. From 2007 to 2013, Sam led SAFE’s policy work on a variety of topics, ranging from global oil and natural gas markets to transportation technology. Prior to joining SAFE, Sam spent four years working in the federal government at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Department of State, including at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

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Camera and Sound

Jayakrishna Kayalakal

Jayakrishna Kayalakal

Jayakrishna Kayalakal is an award wining advertising Creative Director and filmmaker. He consults on brands and communication and makes advertising films. Has lead creative teams in India and in the SAARC region on global brands. His interests are in GUI design, cultural anthropology and language. His films and brand campaigns have won over 16 international awards.

Camera and Sound

Manoranjan Jena

Manoranjan Jena

Manoranjan Jena has been a cinematographer since 16 years and he has worked on multiple formats including mobile, drone and 360 video. Has been the DOP for broadcasters including NatGeo, Discovery, ETV and Doordarshan. Has also been the cameraperson for several documentaries on human rights, history and public health. His interests lie in folk music and travel.

Camera and Sound

Umar Ahmad

Umar Ahmad

Umar Ahmad is a sound recordist and cameraperson. He has worked on multiple formats including news, sports and live broadcasts. Self-taught, he believes that practice is the means to master the craft of cinema.

If I do not have money, so do I not have the right to electricity?
Shrimati Kiran Devi, Dehariya (Bihar)
More Screenings Coming Soon
  • 30
    May

    Lockdown Special

  • 04
    Mar

    India International Center Showcase

  • 27
    Feb

    Somerville Theatre

  • 21
    Feb

    Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival

  • 31
    Jan

    Kriti Film Club @ The India Habitat Centre

  • 29
    Nov

    Woodpecker International Film Festival

  • 14
    Nov

    Global Indian Film Festival

News

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Lately, elections in Bihar are being fought on the issues of energy and development

My government will light up every home at the state's expense - Shri Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister (Bihar)

We did better when electricity supply was poor and everyone hired generators - A DG Vendor in Bihar

In 2015, 43% of power in Bihar was lost in transmission or not paid for

Women always feel safer is a place is electrified - Madhu & Soni, Malhariya (Purnea)

Bihar appoints 5 consumers per transformer to monitor and prevent electricity theft

This film was produced in partnership with

Lighting Up Bihar

Lighting Up Bihar is a project of The Tata Centre for Development at UChicago and Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago India (EPIC India) that seeks to expand energy access and sustainability by incentivizing responsible consumption behaviors.

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Aug 17 , 2020

Virtual Screening of Aayi Gayi (American Center New Delhi & USIEF)

Time: 6 PM IST. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director at 7 PM IST.

Feb 19 , 2020

Somerville Theatre

The Somerville Theatre, part of the Hobbs Building in the heart of Davis Square, was designed by the firm of Funk & Wilcox of Boston and built in 1914 by Joseph Hobbs.  Designed for stage shows, vaudeville, opera, and that new fad – motion pictures – the theatre was only one of the Hobbs Building attractions, which also included a basement café; bowling alley and billiards hall; ten ground floor storefronts; and the Hobbs Crystal Ballroom on the second floor. The second and third floors also contained leased office space.  The cost to build the Hobbs Building was $200,000.

Aayi Gayi will be screened at the Somerville Theatre on February 27, 2020 starting 7PM. Doors will open at 6.30PM. The entry for this screening is free.

Bollywood — And More Jul 19 , 2020

Aayi Gayi – Electricity for Everyone

Anandana Kapur’s Aayi Gayi (2019) is a one-hour documentary that could be seen in the corona-related online version of the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart 2020. It is about electricity and electrification in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, especially in the neglected rural areas. The whole thing is interesting because it is not so much a question of logistical problems as laying the lines or generating electricity itself, but rather a question of mentality. Because many citizens actually see the state as a father, which is perhaps a bit to blame for the politicians who like to sell themselves in the election campaign. But if the state is the father, it has to take care of you, and why should you pay the electricity bill or feel guilty? if you illegally hook into the above-ground pipes. This gives electricity the status of a free basic right, which in turn endangers the supply.

Because the too low income in turn leads to power interruptions. These are not due to technical inability, nor to supply problems, but purely economically due to the payment behavior of customers and the high level of electricity theft. I think it was 2015 when there was an electricity loss rate of 42%. In order to find out all of this, scientific research had to be done, including from the University of Chicago. Then a new complex system began to be implemented, which is basically a reward and penalty system. Units with good payment behavior have to endure fewer or no power interruptions. This also creates social pressure for correct behavior within the neighborhood or village collective.

What makes AAYI GAYI exciting is a precision without unnecessary embellishments, which makes it possible to depict a wealth of aspects in a relatively short time. This creates a great overview of the topic, a presentation of facts and contexts without simple truths. And all of this without comment from the off. AAYI GAYI is almost exclusively a collage cut relatively quickly from statements of various people. This creates a large, mosaic-like picture. There are only small exceptions, for example when a farm worker who has already given up hope of promised electrification can complain to an engineer from the electricity company.

Cosmopolitan Jan 23 , 2020

5 Indian Female Filmmakers Spotlighting the Stark Realities Around Women

Anandana has been directing documentaries since 2004—all standing out for their non-conforming, thought-provoking content. The very reason she got into the profession in the first place. “I was drawn to this genre because you work with the understanding that you can contribute to the bigger picture,” she tells Cosmo. “The form is an invitation to partake in subjective exploration and then make your own meaning of it. Also, it can be through poetry, animation, or conversations (a method I am particularly partial to), but the proposal to spark debates is what is exciting.” Like Blood On My Hands, a film that sparked many a debate. Revolving around menstruation, it deals with the issues of puberty, sexuality and morality of women in the country. A topic that caused “amusing pushback” from fellow filmmakers, who dismissed the subject as a non-issue. “The sheer dismissal of women’s experiences and their struggle with the pain, exhaustion, or societal stigma was mind boggling,” Anandana recalls. In the course of working on the film, the team came across several cases where the women on ‘period’ were isolated and banished, even forced to drink cow’s urine. Even the urban cultures, Anandana mentions, were rife with surveillance, control, and shaming of female bodies. Anandana is currently working on Aayi Gayi, examining the electricity policies in Bihar, and Aashiyaan, featuring domestic workers and homemakers in Delhi. “Through the process of making documentaries, I’ve been able to witness women in leadership positions, as opposed to mainstream cinema where the winds are only just changing.” Talking further on the men versus women debate, she continues, “Many of my colleagues and allies are men. Fortunately, the gender divide hasn’t been a feature of my crew. But I do have conversations with my cinematographers about how women are framed or shown. Some people—interviewers, producers—can be sexist. I’ve learnt to deal with that by taking command of my set, and insisting on not proceeding till the terms of engagement are made equal. I’ve also had women preach curfew hours, or express shock at me being the only woman in the crew in remote locations. The divide is more about mentality vs choice.”

Cinestaan Dec 11 , 2019

You can romanticize the dark, but we had to romanticize the light as it was so fleeting: Anandana Kapur

In the documentary Aayi Gayi, filmmaker Anandana Kapur poses a fundamental question: can access to electricity be regarded a right? Or is electricity only to be accessed as a commodity?

Kapur examines the situation in the state of Bihar, where the government is often regarded as an ‘older brother’ and hence not paying for power is the norm. A team of academics works on the ground to activate the Revenue-Linked Supply Scheme (RLSS) and meets with varying degrees of opposition and success.

The film explores the complex relationships people have with the state through the lens of electricity. In a country with limited resources, can electricity be seen as a social right if the government needs funds to keep the grid functional? If so, can the normalization of non-payment of bills be reversed? Further, is it possible to create an ideal citizenry?

In a conversation on the sidelines of the seventh edition of the Woodpecker International Film Festival in New Delhi, where her documentary was screened and was chosen Best Film on Human Rights, Anandana Kapur spoke of her experiences while making Aayi Gayi.