While India debates the misuse of dowry laws, a female filmmaker has decided to stand up and has become the voice of the men who have somehow found themselves entangled in the law wrongly.

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Petite yet powerful, 30-year-old filmmaker Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj is a men's rights activist. "The wrong needs to be spoken about irrespective of the gender. As a woman I decided to be the voice for men as I know that if a man voices for his rights, he is generally mocked at in the society," she says. Currently, Bhardwaj is working on her documentary on the misuse of dowry law called Martyrs of Marriage. It has been three years since she started her journey as a men's rights activist. "My journey as a filmmaker to an activist has been deeply influenced by several encounters with men and families exploited by the misuse of dowry laws. In fact, I saw some of my near-and-dear ones suffer silently because of the misuse," she shares.

She refused to be a silent spectator and decided to bring the plight of harassed husbands in focus. "I did not start as somebody, thinking that I want to be men's rights activist. My voice for the cause comes out from the personal experiences, experiences that become the trigger point," says Deepika. Today, she receives calls from worried, harassed men and their families from all parts of the country for help. "I get more calls from women--mothers and sisters of harassed men--seeking suggestions on how they should tackle false accusations. I motivate the families not to give in to the wrong demands and fight against the abuse," she says.

Her work is hugely popular among students from various educational institutions. She had been invited to talk about her work at IIFT and IIT Indore. "They appreciate the way I highlight the other side of the story. During my speech at IIT Indore, several girls came forward and acknowledged the cause." Bhardwaj believes that her fight is not against women. She only helps innocent men reclaim their dignity. "My fight is against the wrong. I am trying to fill the gap by narrating stories that remain far away from our cognisance. These unheard stories shake the normalcy."



