Why the two named their company FireHorse is an interesting story. Explain the duo, "1966 was the Chinese year of the FireHorse. The Chinese believed that FireHorses were headstrong and potentially dangerous to the social order. Both of us are born in 1966, and both of us have a strong mind like the FireHorse. Our banner will encourage creative women in India and around the world, who are unafraid to question the status quo and push the envelope. More power to them and their work for which FireHorse Films will provide a platform."

The philosophy behind FireHorse Films is simple: women first. "In the subjects we explore, in the films we make, in the technicians we choose to work with, it will always be women first," say Venita and Deepti, "Our goal is to become a self-funded, successful, commercial, film-production company. We believe in success by the high standards that we set for ourselves. As such, we are an organisation that will seek, always, to work with women professionals of the highest calibre. We believe in raising the standards, not conforming to them."

The idea for a women-centric film company came into being in February 2003, during a discussion between Venita and Deepti, regarding the increasing incidence of pedophilia in the tourist belt of Goa, where both live. A shared desire to move beyond pure, commercial entertainment and apply their professional film experience to address subjects that matter to them as women, started to evolve from idea to realisation. "As professional filmmakers we are aware that in India, the Hindi commercial film is perhaps the most powerful media available to generate public awareness among the largest possible audience. It became apparent, from our experience as women in the film industry, the kind of subject matter - social issues important to us as women, that we would want to explore through film, would not be received well by a largely male-dominated Indian film-finance world. Having considered the hard fact that there are no commercial film companies in India run by women, we concluded what we needed was to create our own platform," say the twosome.

Using their professional background as filmmakers and their strong association, both inside and outside the film industry, with other professional women who shared their vision, Venita and Deepti decided to create FireHorse Films. "By then, March 8, International Women’s Day, was just around the corner and we worked immediately to put together the launch of the Film Company on this significant day," they inform.

FireHorse Films primary aim is to make commercial and documentary films dealing with issues important to women, by women filmmakers. Two such projects underway are Monsters Under The Bed, a film written by Venita based on personal experience with pedophilia, and Bombay Stories, a documentary by Deepti on the reality of five women’s lives in a small suburb of the city. Made in an interactive and energised visual format of music television, Bombay Stories explores the status of women today in the different economic and class segments of urban, post-liberal, Indian society, as represented by a small suburb in Mumbai.

"These films are the beginning of our work towards addressing the enormous challenges faced by women in the Indian film industry," says Venita and Deepti, "Women work much harder than their male counterparts, to get a foot in the door. There are no organisations that support women in the film industry, and very little funding opportunities for the kind of films many women want to make. There are only three established women directors in the Indian film Industry, and two women cinematographers. In India, filmmaking and financing is a tightly-guarded men’s club and if you are a woman, the proverbial glass ceiling is directly over your head."

In providing an alternative arena for women filmmakers, FireHorse Films will select its Board of Directors, staff, consultants, creative and technical teams from a talented pool of women professionals. "We want to, both, directly and indirectly impact our industry by using part of the profits we accrue from FireHorse Film projects towards providing a platform for women professionals in the Indian film industry; start-up funding and seed money towards developing and realising projects by women filmmakers; and facilitating internships to encourage women filmmakers in the Indian film industry," say the two partners.

FireHorse Films will be the participant and co-organiser of the Goa International Women’s Film Festival, the first film festival of it’s kind in India, featuring the work of Indian and international women filmmakers. It will be held in March 2004. Besides, women from any walk of life can sign up on the company’s website and share their ideas. Or women can even contribute a script for film or television, which FireHorse Films will produce. The company will consider films in three different categories, viz. Commercial Mainstream; Documentary Alternative, including Crossover Films; Children’s Films and Experimental Work by new artists.

Venita and Deepti agree that FireHorse Films will take time to establish itself, but they are confident that the company will definitely make its presence felt and will bring woman power to the fore. "In a community, let us women support each other, encourage each other, align with each other and help each other realise our dreams," the two conclude.

Indian woman.

“It’s not the standard, dry socialist documentary,” says its director Deepti Datt, “It will show the lives of five women in a small Bombay suburb, dealt with in a music television format.”

Datt should know. She was senior producer with both MTV and Channel [V] in the early ’90s and also directed music videos and commercials.

The Goa-based film-maker (and gallery/restaurant owner

— she runs Axirwad) is today a founder of Firehorse Films with Venita Coelho. It is India’s first production house devoted to telling women’s stories.

Datt is still undecided over which suburb she will pick for Bombay Stories, but “it will probably be Bandra, where I last lived”. Shooting will begin later this year, but Datt intends to premiere it at the Goa International Women’s Film Festival on March 8, 2004, co-organised by Firehouse Films.

Bombay Stories will show five women from different structures of society, but whose lives are interconnected.

“It’s part of our film company’s specific agenda of showing the modern Indian woman,” explains Datt.

She adds that the scripting for the hour-long film is yet loose, as a documentary often unfolds by itself.

The idea came from wanting to show women as other than glamour dolls, living real lives,” says Datt. “After all, what are the images thrown at our children? One of our biggest budgeted movies last year had both the women devoted to a terminal alcoholic with no redeeming qualities. We decided to start a trend of different images and Bombay Stories will work towards that.