Inspired by the frenzied media coverage that followed the 2010 Indian student attacks in Melbourne, director Girish Makwana has crafted a detailed and immersive narrative that explores the real ramifications of deep-rooted discrimination.
Girish Makwana, in the early stages of his career as filmmaker, found the inspiration for the film The Colour of Darkness in the coverage of these events.
His research and enquiry into what lay behind the media story allowed him to examine both the complexities of the Indian historical and cultural landscape and the contrasts and contradictions of modern-day Australian society. His script juxtaposes scenes in India and Australia and explores discrimination as it occurs specifically in India within the historical context of the caste system and its perpetuation in the 21st century, both in India and beyond its borders. The unfolding of events in Melbourne highlights a relatively young society coming to terms with uncomfortable truths hidden below the surface of the cosmopolitan lifestyle.
All the colour, depth and mystery of Indias complex and riotous cultural heritage is brought to light in a single action which changes two countries forever.
