Marriage Cops Dials-Up India’s Women’s Helpline - POV Magazine

Marriage Cops Dials-Up India’s Women’s Helpline - POV Magazine

A state-supported social service designed to salvage failing marital relations? Sounds like an unlikely proposition, but that’s exactly where Marriage Cops aims its clear-eyed lens. In doing so, filmmakers Shashwati Talukdar and Cheryl Hess underscore Indian marriage values, the needs of women, and the way a country’s bureaucratic institution copes with a singularly challenging mandate. The film, which has its world premiere at Hot Docs this wee…

“The Police Are Just A Bandaid”: Shashwati Talukdar And Cheryl Hess on Hot Docs-Premiering ‘Marriage Cops’

A cramped room inside which most of Marriage Cops takes place becomes an effective metaphor for not only the stifling sensation of being trapped in an unhappy marriage but also the limited scope within which the police can work. The Hot Docs-premiering documentary follows sub-inspectors Sandhya Rani and Krishna Jayara, who run the Women’s Helpline in Dehradun, India, listening to sparring couples and attempting to work through their marital issu…