KOLKATA: At least two films in the Indian competition at the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) explored the theme of infertility. Incidents of’phantom pregnancy‘, a peculiar condition documented twice by Queen Mary I when she exhibited all visible indications of pregnancy without ultimately delivering a child, served as a catalyst for ‘No Maas No Din Ebong Antaheen (Silence of the Womb…)’. It was the only Bengali film in the Indian film competition. The other film was Anchehalli Shivakumar’s ‘Ratnamma’, which chronicles the sacrifices of a lady who cannot conceive.
In December 1554, mere months after her marriage to Philip II of Spain, Queen Mary I proclaimed her pregnancy. Despite manifesting all symptoms of pregnancy, she never bore a child. The identical occurrence transpired in 1557. Such instances of phantom pregnancies, albeit uncommon, persist today. “I initially learned about this rare condition from gynecologist Mounashree Ghosh. A phantom pregnancy, alternatively termed pseudocyesis or false pregnancy, is an unusual condition triggering missed periods, abdominal distension, breast tenderness, nausea, vomiting, weight gain, and labor pain. They Experience pregnancy sensations without carrying a fetus. One to six such cases manifest in 22,000 childbirths,” explained director Soumodeep Ghosh Chowdhury.
This debut feature film – with cinematography by Tuhin, music by Shubhadeep Guha, and editing by Sujay Dutta Ray – examined the ordeal of a childless couple portrayed by Sagnik Mukherjee and Sreya Bhattacharyya. The wife, having previously delivered a stillborn boy, refuses medical consultation when she believes she is pregnant again. The film, however, refrained from investigating the origins of such an unusual condition. Factors including depression, emotional distress, childhood sexual abuse, pelvic or abdominal tumors, perimenopausal symptoms, and bloating from medications like oral contraceptives are frequently cited as potential triggers.
‘Ratnamma’, which was screened at KIFF, portrayed a virtuous woman from an agricultural family who weds a middle-class farmer. Despite harmonious marriage, they encounter societal pressure due to infertility. Enduring humiliation, Ratnamma maintains her devotion to family. However, she departs when her husband brings home another woman. Twenty-five years later, she returns following her husband’s demise, confronting adversities to safeguard the property from his calculating cousins. Whilst navigating government bureaucracy to register the property, Ratnamma ultimately opts to bestow it upon the other woman’s children. Despite her legitimate claim, she altruistically relinquishes ownership for her husband’s children, garnering universal admiration.
“Fifty years ago, husbands of most infertile women in Karnataka illegally remarried to get an heir. After the demise of the husbands, the property was inherited by the male heirs only. Today, this practice is still prevalent in rural Karnataka and barren women there have to silently suffer. My film is inspired by the true stories of all women,” said ‘Ratnamma’ director Anchehalli Shivakumar.