For a phenomenon that is assumed to be integral to ‘Indian culture’, tea-drinking only gained ground over a century ago. A successful advertising campaign and copious promotion of tea turned it into an essential everyday beverage, closely seconded by coffee. ‘Authentic’ methods of preparation, though, were tweaked to suit tastes, and tea-drinking became as diverse as the culture of the subcontinent; from saccharine-sweet, spiced, ‘cooked’ tea to sumptuous long-leaf and salted, buttered concoctions, the camellia sinensis was savoured in all textures and climates.
Steeped and Stirred explores tea preparation and drinking in diverse contexts, to explore the social, cultural, and political history of tea drinking in India. It tries to understand the various ways in which tea unites and divides us by connecting multiple narratives from across the country. Through an audio-visual canvas of the lush tea gardens of West Bengal, the buzzing coffee houses of Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram, the bustling Irani cafes of Mumbai, and Hyderabad, and the omnipresent chai tapri, this film captures the essence of tea drinking in India in all its eccentricity.
About The Filmmaker: Dr. Shweta Gosh
Dr. Shweta Ghosh is a National Award-winning documentary filmmaker and researcher. She is a Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries at the Department of Film, Theatre & Television, University of Reading, U.K., and has recently completed her Ph.D. in Film (practice-as-research).
Ghosh has directed and edited three feature documentaries via fellowships from the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT, New Delhi) and Early Career Film Fellowship (TISS, Mumbai). These films have won multiple awards and been screened at various film festivals. Her debut film Accsex (on disability, gender, and sexuality) won a National Film Award and has been used extensively for research, training, and advocacy.
Shweta’s interdisciplinary film practice Ph.D. project has culminated in a feature documentary titled We Make Film (2021) and a written thesis. We Make Film explores the intersections between disability, creative expression, and accessibility to understand and support filmmaking by people with disabilities in urban India.
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