Tokyo’s Indian Female Sumo Wrestler Tale ‘Sumo Didi’ Recounts Battles With Social Prejudices and Patriarchal Mindsets (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNaman Ramachandran Jayant Rohatgi’s feature directorial debut “Sumo Didi” has its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s Asian Future strand.
The film is based on the life of Hetal Dave, India’s first professional female sumo wrestler. Rohatgi, a veteran of TV commercials, was on the lookout for a story with a strong human connection to make his feature film debut.
When Joy Sengupta of FreshLime Films shared Dave’s story with Rohatgi, it lit a spark. “A middle class girl from a conservative household, Hetal had seen it all – social prejudices, patriarchal mindsets, lack of opportunities and the disdain for dreaming outside the box especially as an overweight woman.
These are things that we have seen around us growing up. However, Hetal went a step ahead and chose a sport that did not even exist in our country.
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