What: The Red Carpet Premiere of 'Ladies First,' hosted by Shaana Levy Bahl (Producer) and Uraaz Bahl (Director)
When: Thursday, March 8
Where: Inox Insiginia, Atria Mall, Worli, Mumbai
Time: 8 pm onwards
'Ladies First' is no ordinary story, it is the First Original Netflix Documentary (it is now out on Netflix) that chronicles the life, the struggles, the journey of India's first female world champion archer Deepika Kumari, hailing from the village of Ratu, Jharkand who went on to become World No 1. Directed by debutant director, Uraaz Bahl and produced by Shaana Levy Bahl, Ladies First has bagged 16 international awards at festivals like Focus, Los Angeles Film Awards, London Film Awards, New York Film awards and more.
The stunning couple, Shaana and Uraaz Bahl played gracious hosts at the premiere of Ladies First at Inox Insignia, Atria Mall, Worli. From the corporate world to the film world to the who's who of fashion and society, the event had a smashing turnout. Pooja Shetty Deora, Adi Godrej, Sikander Kher, Naina Bachchan and Kunal Kapoor, Dino Morea, Zayed Khan, Mozez Singh, Shibani Dandekar, Rohan Sippy were some of the many celeb guests who were overheard gushing about how fabulous the documentary is.
Speaking at the event, Producer, Shaana Levy Bahl stated that, "From age 5, I knew I wanted to perform and tell stories - I sculpted my internships and after school activities around making my dream a reality. I Went to Yale drama school, worked for Steve Tisch in LA (Forrest Gump Producer) and learnt so much from Mira Nair in NYC. Then i went to Columbia University for my undergraduate degree and when I came back to London I immersed myself into theatre before getting cast in Namastey London. I then started working more in Mumbai as well as starting a creative consulting firm for boutique luxury brands using my visual aesthetic and my parents business background to good use. I have always wanted to combine my love for film and business and that’s when I started producing. After executive producing, 'West is West,' my husband, Uraaz Bahl and I begun our first home grown production - Ladies First. Ladies First enabled me to combine my passion for women’s issues and film. I believe in the incredible tool of story telling to affect change and make a real difference. Any film has the power to empower, education and entertain. I thank you all and especially Deepika for being able to make it here today for this big day.”
About Ladies First: Ladies First tells the story of Deepika Kumari who, born on the roadside to abject poverty in rural India, went in search of food, stumbled upon archery, and within 4 years became the number one archer in the world! Ladies First documents Deepika’s tumultuous path to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Having to overcome the obstacles of a socially repressive system, she strives to achieve her dream of becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal. #LadiesFirst is a campaign that aims to inspire girls to overcome the many social, cultural and physical obstacles preventing them from participating in sports. Even if girls don’t become professional athletes, research shows that the power of play has the ability to transform a girls life, making it crucial for us to inject role models, like Deepika, to make a long lasting impact in rural India. Having relatable influencers and heroes creates a 100x ripple effect within a girls community, because it changes the entire families mindset, “If Deepika can do it, so can we!" In India, we have squandered the unrealised talents of millions of young girls. The makers of Ladies First hope Deepika’s story along with her grit and determination, can help shatter India’s tragedy of small expectations for girls and put LADIES FIRST.
About the Director: Uraaz Bahl: Uraaz Bahl is a first time director based in Mumbai, India. Uraaz was schooled in India and England, and graduated from Boston University. Films have always been his passion, and after graduation he was accepted to UCLA film school, but was unable to attend as he returned home to be with his mother who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He then went on to join his family’s manufacturing business. In 2008 Uraaz got his Masters from Columbia University, and launched a real estate company. Uraaz always secretly dreamt of one day making a film, and Ladies First is a project forty years in the making.