Smile Pinki
Encyclopedia
Smile Pinki is a 39-minute documentary
directed by Megan Mylan
. The film shows the story of a poor girl in rural India
whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. The documentary was made in Hindi
and Bhojpuri
, and won the 81st Academy Award
for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
Pinki Sonkar is an five-year-old girl who is living with a severe cleft lip in one of the poorest areas of India
. Not allowed to attend school at her native village, Rampur Dahaba village in Mirzapur
, near Varanasi
, and ostracized because of her deformity, Pinki lives a life of quiet desperation as she waits and wonders if she will ever receive the cleft surgery. Her parents are unable to afford the surgery that she desperately needs. By chance, Pinki's parents meet a social worker one day who is traveling village to village, gathering patients for a hospital that provides free cleft lip surgery to thousands of poor children each year through The Smile Train
program. The surgery was performed at G.S. Memorial Hospital, by plastic surgeon Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh, who along with Pinki attended the 81st Academy Award ceremony.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Megan Mylan
Megan Mylan
Megan Mylan is an American documentary film director, known for her films Lost Boys of Sudan and the 2008 Academy Award-winning Smile Pinki....
. The film shows the story of a poor girl in rural India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. The documentary was made in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri language
Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...
, and won the 81st Academy Award
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...
for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
Overview
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Not allowed to attend school at her native village, Rampur Dahaba village in Mirzapur
Mirzapur
Mirzapur is a city in the heart of North India, nearly 650 km between Delhi and Kolkata and also equidistant from Allahabad and Varanasi. Located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur has a population of a little over 205,264 and is renowned for its famous carpet and brassware industry...
, near Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, and ostracized because of her deformity, Pinki lives a life of quiet desperation as she waits and wonders if she will ever receive the cleft surgery. Her parents are unable to afford the surgery that she desperately needs. By chance, Pinki's parents meet a social worker one day who is traveling village to village, gathering patients for a hospital that provides free cleft lip surgery to thousands of poor children each year through The Smile Train
The Smile Train
Smile Train is a not-for-profit, 501 organization based in New York City with the mission of providing free corrective surgery for children with cleft lip and palate in about 80 developing countries. Founded in 1999, Smile Train focuses on providing free cleft-related training for doctors and...
program. The surgery was performed at G.S. Memorial Hospital, by plastic surgeon Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh, who along with Pinki attended the 81st Academy Award ceremony.