Caste Is Not
A Rumour

A VR experience directed by Nishtha Jain,

Naomi Shah and Pourush Turel

2016

Credits:
Directed by Naomi Shah, Nishtha Jain &

Pourush Turel
Produced by Khushboo Ranka
Cinematography- Pourush Turel
Editing- Naomi Shah
Executive Producer- Anand Gandhi
Creative Director- Zain Memon
Editor for ElseVR- Shubhangi Swarup

Technical Information:
Resolution: 3840*2160
File Format: 4K. H264 Equirectillinear video
Duration: 00:05:40
Shot on: 8 Go-pro freedoms + custom rigs
Screening Format: Headset, ElseVR app and
Youtube channel

Tags: Virtual Reality, Fillmmaking, Directing

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Context
In India, the cow has gained prominence as a sacred animal after the right-wing Hindu party came into power. Violence against the marginalised Dalits and Muslims communities—traditional consumers of beef—has also increased proportionally. In July 2016, four Dalit men were publicly attacked for doing their caste-based job—skinning a dead cow. The episode was recorded by the perpetrators and went viral on WhatsApp.

The incident shocked civil society into action, prompting them to undertake a protest march across 400 kilometres to the original site of violence. The film enters the journey of the protestors and gives an immersive account of the felt injustice and visceral energy of a protest march.

Synopsis
‘Caste Is Not A Rumour’ puts you smack dab in the middle of the Dalit protests that have had Gujarat on the boil for the past several months. In July last year, four Dalit youth were beaten up by gau rakshaks for skinning a dead cow. This led to mass protests across Gujarat and saw large numbers of Dalits rallying together in an unprecedented show of strength across the country.

Caste Is Not A Rumour was made as one of seven films released by ElseVR.

ElseVR was a Mixed Reality channel, and Asia’s first VR narrative platform. It is a disruptive idea in narrative nonfiction and journalism that brings extraordinary and urgent human rights’ stories to Virtual Reality (VR), granting the audience an entry “into” the story. Each story facilitates collaborations between formidable filmmakers, writers, designers and virtual reality production companies to amplify the power of narrative. Each story is a virtual reality experience, accompanied with a piece of long form journalism and images to create a deep and well-rounded understanding of the subject for the audience.