HomeCelebrationsWorld Toilet Day – Q2P Movie Screening 2020

World Toilet Day – Q2P Movie Screening 2020

Date 19th November, 2020
Faculty Prof. Smita Dalvi, Prof. Kavita Sawant
Subject Q2P movie screening
Session 2020 - 21
Year B. Arch - 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, M. Arch - 2nd

Event Details:
Pillai College of Architecture, New Panvel observed World Toilet Day on 19th November, 2020 by hosting two major events this year. Senate – The Student Council of Pica in collaboration with Soroptimist Welfare Association (SIBC) organised ‘Nirmal’ – toilet design competition and Q2P movie screening to celebrate the event. The idea of observing world toilet day emerged from the thought of providing sustainable sanitization, alongside clean water and hand washing facilities to help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of infectious diseases. In order to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve sustainable development for all by 2030 we celebrate this World Toilet day in awareness since 2001. The event was graced by the appearance of honourable chief guest Dr. Daphne Pillai, co-Founder of MES group of institutions, Principal of Pillai College of Architecture Dr. Sudnya Mahimkar, President of SIBC Yvette Lee, members of SIBC, faculties and students of PiCA and PHOC institutes.

Introduction to the Speaker:
Paromita Vohra is a filmmaker and a writer whose work explores feminism, love and desire, urban life and popular culture. She has been invited to speak at universities around the world. She is also the founder and Creative Director of AGENTS OF ISHQ India’s best-loved website about sex, love and desire. Her fiction and non-fiction have been widely published. She writes a weekly column, PARO-NORMAL ACTIVITY, in Sunday Midday. She is the writer of the film Khamosh Pani, the comic book called Priya’s Mirror, a play named Ishqiya, and scripts for documentaries such as Dharavi Ishtyle. Paromita has made a number of landmark documentary films that have been shown world wide. Some of them are: UNLIMITED GIRLS, MORALITY TV AUR LOVING JEHAD: EK MANOHAR KAHANI and of course Q2P—which she is going to show us today. In 2012 Time Out listed her as one of 10 people to change how Indians watch films.

About the movie:

Q2P, a film by Paromita Vohra, is about toilets and the city. It sifts through the dream of Mumbai as a future Shanghai and searches for public toilets, watching who has to queue to pee. As the film observes who has access to toilets and who doesn’t, we hear the silence that surrounds the toilet and sense how similar it is to the silence that surrounds inequality.

Stills from the Movie Screening of Q2P

Stills from the Movie Screening of Q2P

Stills from the Movie Screening of Q2P

The interaction session with the speaker
The movie screening was later followed by the discussion and question answer session. The discussion majorly focused on the idea of us being open minded, pregressive and liberal at the same time there are different realities and silences related to use of public toilets and its relationship with the gender, class and cast. Paromita introduced the concept of biological violence when it comes to using washrooms/ toilets. Prof. Smita Dalvi raised a question on the scenario of sanitisation as the film was made in 2006 and India had seen 2 major shifts in the political regime. She further enquired about Hon. Manmohan Singh’s government initiative ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan’ and Hon. Narendra Modi’s government initiative ‘Swachha Bharat Abhiyan’ and their impact on the current scenario, whether it has changed the condition of sanitization in the country or not.

Stills from the interaction with the speaker session

Stills from the interaction with the speaker session

Stills from the interaction with the speaker session

Paromita Vohra further mentioned that, there are initiatives taken by the government to improve the state of sanitation in the country. However, it sometimes fails to understand the needs of the people. Prof Kavita Sawant mentioned that, in spite of making the film in 2006, it still fits very well in the current context even after 19 years. The announcement regarding ‘Nirmal’-Toilet Design competition was done on this occasion. The final date to submit the entries is 23rd November, 2020.

The event was concluded by offering vote of thanks to the honourable chief guest, speaker, respected principal, Chairman and members of SIBC, teachers and students.