While we are aware of their struggles and success, the life of boxers are not discussed at length and on a daily basis. Two filmmakers from Canada, Ameesha Joshi and Anna Sarkissian are travelling across the globe with their feature documentary With This Ring.
We catch up with them on their stopover to Bengaluru this week for a screening, as they spill the beans on the film that deals with the women’s boxing team in India and their aspirations and beliefs.
Already garnering a great response from many Indian cities, where it has been showcased, the film follows the lives of boxers Mary Kom, Sarita Devi and Chhoto Loura. “It’s an independent documentary about the women who make up the Indian national boxing team that we have filmed over the course of six years in four countries,” says Ameesha.
It all happened when Ameesha attended the World Press Photo exhibit in Montreal and saw images of girls boxing on the beach in Chennai, by Danish photographer Miriam KS Dalsgaard. “Instead of admiring the beautiful composition, I called my friend and classmate at the Concordia University, Anna Sarkissian and the journey began. We flew to India to make this documentary on the Indian women’s boxing team as I was aware of the challenges Indian women face to pursue boxing, living in an Indian household in Toronto.
After some research, we unearthed that besides an extensive boxing infrastructure, India also had many international medals and so we decided to attend the 4th AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championships, where the Indians made a clean sweep, winning medals in eight out of 13 categories. We were the number one team in the world,” says Ameesha.
Friends and volunteers helped as the girls documented the boxers’ lives as they travelled to India, China, Barbados and Ontario. “When we arrived in India,” recalls Anna, adding, “many people couldn’t comprehend why we were interested in filming them. In 2006, Mary Kom had won her third world championship and the Indian team had won medals, but when we went out on the streets, we didn’t find people who even knew that India had a women’s boxing team.
That’s when we knew we had found interesting trailblazers and wanted to share their inspirational stories and soon there was news of the inclusion of women’s boxing in London Olympics, 2012. Once Mary Kom won the bronze in London, the spotlight was on her, while the rest of the team continued to train in anonymity. This happened the day she won, she was unknown before, even with five world championship titles. There were challenges like getting official permissions and getting the girls to open up.
These boxers have rigorous training schedules and that left us with little time with them, but soon we broke the ice and they welcomed us into their homes and lives. We have dedicated 10 years to this project, alongside our day jobs to pay our bills and completing our master’s degrees.” The film will be screened next in Indore and Delhi.
