It’s the first scene in a new documentary. A group of women are being taught how to use phone cameras so they can make a documentary about their lives as domestic workers, community health workers, toilet operators and home caregivers. The voice of their instructor is heard talking about the things they need to think about: composing a frame, lighting, holding the camera still.

One woman raises her hand and asks: “Where is the record button?”

The room erupts in laughter.

Inexperience didn’t keep them from fulfilling their dream. These 10 working class women from Mumbai are the co-directors of the new movie Mast Mahila Mandali –- that’s Hindi for Cool Ladies Club –- which had its premiere this spring in Mumbai’s iconic, 1930s art-deco style Regal theater for an audience of 1,200 that included families and neighbors of the novice directors as well as cinephiles and media professionals.

The title came from Shilpi Gulati, the filmmaker they worked with and who taught them filmmaking basics. She suggested it at a meeting of the ten women. They deliberated over it and thought it fit the spirit of the film, pushing back against the idea that they are helpless women from the slums.

“For me, a ‘cool lady’ is someone who is bindaas — relaxed, fearless and does whatever comes to her heart,” says Rehana Shaikh, 32, a home caregiver and one of the ten selected to take part in this project.

The idea was to show what their lives are like — and also to show how cool they are by giving them a chance to express their creativity and just goof around on camera and have fun.

The idea for the film took root in 2024 and came from Supriya Jan of CORO India, a nonprofit group that teaches leadership skills to marginalized women. Her initial idea was to focus on the group’s Right to Pee campaign, which advocates for safe, clean and free public toilets. And she wanted women from the impoverished M-east ward to make the film rather than hiring an outsider.

Jan, the executive producer of the film, reached out to Shilpi Gulati, a filmmaker who teaches at the School of Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, to work on the project.

At first, Gulati was puzzled by the idea. The women did not know anything about filmmaking, so how could they co-direct a film? She sprang into action: “It was a wild experiment. I put together a lesson plan so the women could learn the basics of filmmaking, from lighting to composition. We met every Saturday from about 1:30 to 6:30 p.m.,” says Gulati. With only five smartphones available, the ten women worked in pairs.

“I would give them a production exercise for the week — like shooting the Mumbai monsoon or interviewing each other about who you were in the past and who you are today?”

Advertisement

As the women talked and filmed, the scope of the documentary expanded. Instead of making a five-minute film about sanitation, they wanted to document the unseen lives of ordinary women like themselves, sharing intimate moments, telling their stories. It became a 70-minute documentary that took six months to film and a year-and-a-half to edit.

The driving theme, says Gulati, is that even in their busy lives, these women could take time for themselves, build friendships and show that “having fun is not frivolous. That being mast [carefree] and claiming joy is cool. It is a radical act of resistance against oppressive structures.”

Darshana Mayekar, a toilet operator and a slum sanitation program leader, says the experience made her feel young again. “For 20 years, I have been busy raising a family and working. While making the film, I was able to live a little for myself. I am 50, but I feel 20,” she says.

Vaishali Mane, 35, a community worker who helps women access property rights, says being in front of the camera gave her the confidence to speak up — for herself and other women.

Then there’s the exhilarating story of Rehana Shaikh.During the months of filming, Shaikh was between jobs so instead earned money by doing tailoring – gluing tiny round mirrors to a dazzling yellow, silver and white colored sharara set of wide-legged pants, a tunic and stole.

Advertisement

When it was time to take a break, Sheetal Navle, a community health worker, filmed Shaikh going up a narrow set of stairs in her two-story home to her kitchenette, where she would prepare dinner for her husband and three children.

Rehana Shaikh has her star moment as she dances in her family’s kitchenette while preparing dinner.

NPR screengrab from Cool Ladies Club via Vimeo

hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

NPR screengrab from Cool Ladies Club via Vimeo

In the scene filmed, as she cooks, she plays a rambunctious Bollywood number on her phone and begins to dance.

“I had always dreamed of being a dancer on screen or on stage,” she says. “Growing up, I was not allowed to step out of the house even for dance classes.

“When the opportunity to learn filmmaking came, I said yes because I wanted to learn something new. My husband said no. He didn’t want me on screen.” She says he was uncomfortable about women speaking openly on camera.

Advertisement

“I convinced him by saying I will only be behind the camera,” she says, deciding to hold back on the details and negotiate with him over time.

Shaikh went back and forth on keeping the dance scene in the film, given her husband’s concerns. “The other women encouraged me, saying ‘don’t hide your passion.’ It became a way to inspire others to relieve their stress and dance.” 

At the premiere, her husband and three children cheered and hooted.

She was thrilled. “They were telling others in the audience, ‘She is my wife, that’s my mother!”

Note: In addition to Shaikh, Navle, Mane and Mayekar, the Mumbai women who served as co-directors are Kavita Ghuge, Rohini Kadam, Kavita Khomne, Gauri Rane, Anjum Shaikh and Nazneen Siddiqui. They were paid $262 each for their work on the film as co-directors; potential income from distribution deals and ticket sales will be shared as they own joint copyright of the film with Shilpi Gulati, who was also a co-director, and CORO India. Since the premiere, there have been additional community screenings of Cool Ladies Club, and the documentary will be submitted to film festivals this summer.

Advertisement

Neha Bhatt is an award-winning journalist and author based in Delhi, India, reporting on public health, development and culture. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The British Medical Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Globe and Mail, Devex and National Geographic. Connect with her on linkedin.com/in/nehabhattwrites

This week’s show was recorded in Chicago with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Alzo Slade, Not My Job guest Robert Smigel and panelists Josh Gondelman, Shantira Jackson, and Shane Torres. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

Who’s Alzo This Time

America’s Team; Siri Killed Romance; Doritos, Cheetos and Chex, Oh My!

Panel Questions

The Rise of Barmacies.

Bluff The Listener

Our panelists tell three stories about someone getting some game-changing advice, only one of which is true

Not My Job: Legendary comedy writer the hand behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Robert Smigel answers our questions about service animals

Peter talks to legendary comedy writer and the man behind Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog, Robert Smigel. Robert plays our game called, “Insult dog, meet SERVICE dog?” Three questions about service animals.

Panel Questions

Goodbye Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner; John Travolta Frolics!

Limericks

Alzo Slade reads three news-related limericks: The Drink Of the Summer; Apex Squirrels; A Meal Made For and From a Caveman

Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else

Predictions

Our panelists predict, after smart phones dropped the birth rate, what can we do to get it up?

More than 20 years after legislators first told the California Energy Commission that replacement tires need to be as energy-efficient as original tires, the agency is taking action.

Tires on new cars have low “rolling resistance,” meaning there is less friction and drag on the engine as it propels the car forward. That boosts a car’s overall miles per gallon.

The public has until Tuesday to weigh in on a proposal that would require replacement tires sold in California be as energy-efficient as the average new care tire by 2031. California would be the first state with such a rule.

The effort comes as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle federal fuel economy standards and has blocked the state’s ability to strengthen its greenhouse gas emissions rules for cars.

“At a time when the Trump administration is driving up harmful emissions and driving up costs for drivers, this is a tool that California has, to cut costs and clean up the air,” said Bill Magavern, policy directory at the advocacy group Coalition for Clean Air . “It doesn’t require any approval from the federal government.”

The commission estimates that once the rule is in full effect, drivers will save $153 over the life of their tires, after accounting for the higher cost of the more efficient wheels, which add about $26 per set. By 2035, the rule would reduce yearly gasoline demand by the equivalent of one to two months of one California refinery’s annual production.

As for carbon dioxide emissions, it would be the equivalent, annually, of taking 400,000 cars off the road, the commission said.

Many members of the public expressed support in a public hearing Wednesday. But some said low rolling resistance tires are less safe and don’t last as long.

In response to similar feedback, the commission already included new grip standards in its proposal and produced a study that found tire efficiency does not affect lifespan. It also relaxed efficiency requirements for long-lasting tires.

People who race and collect cars and buy ultra high-performance tires for other reasons are also not pleased.

“As part of California car culture, enthusiasts who take vehicles to the track and enjoy a variety of higher-grip, lower-treadwear options would be disproportionately impacted,” wrote commenter Tommy Wong. Motor sport and trade publications are panning the rule.

As for tire manufacturers and dealers, the industry is split. Michelin, Discount Tire and EV-tire maker Enso are on board with the rule, but Goodyear, Yokohama and the California Tire Dealers Association are pushing back, arguing that the efficient tires would cost more than agency estimates.

Consumer Reports and the Consumer Federation of America said the agency’s cost estimates were “well-grounded” and that the rule was a “much needed response to the affordability crisis.”

Energy commission staffer Ken Rider stressed that people probably won’t notice much of a difference if the rule is enacted because so many cars on the road already use these tires.

“There is a significant number of popular replacement tires that already meet [the requirements] that are safe, long-lasting, and competitively priced,” Rider said. “They are made across a variety of manufacturers, across a variety of vehicle shapes and sizes.”

A spokesperson for the commission said staff is considering more revisions to the proposal, which could lead to another round of public comment. Once the rule is final, it must be voted on by the commission.