Lamakaan is hosting an array of films on gender issues as a run upto the Women's day.

This film Manjuben Truck driver made by Sharna Dastur documentary is an emotive and introspective tale of a woman in a man’s world. Miss Manju is a truck driver. Defying India’s strict gender stereotypes, she risks life and limb as she races along India’s narrow, beautiful mountain passes. In a patriarchal society, rough talking, long-trousered Miss Manju has defined herself as a man. Beautifully shot, this is a poetic tale investigating social conformity, gender stereotypes and personal identity. A touching and intimate portrait. Flashbulbs click as a model in casual men’s slacks, a shirt and a trilby poses for the photographer. She looks just like actor Amitabh Bachchan. Manjusha is a woman in a man’s world. “Half Shiva, half Shakti – that’s me. Both male and female powers are in me,” she laughs. For most of her life Miss Manju has driven trucks, in what is usually considered an exclusively macho profession. “I used to have 8” she states “I had to sell most of them…” Now she talks like a local ‘dada’, chews pan masala and bosses the local mechanics at the garage. On the road, Manjusha is equally macho. “I drive like a bastard,” she grins, beeping her horn furiously. “I always like to make sure I’m in front.” Squeezing past oncoming trucks and incautious camels along India’s picturesque but lethal roads, her life is constantly on the line. Deep beneath her in a ravine the mangled remains of another truck remind her exactly how dangerous her job is.