After a successful run on the festival circuit last year, filmmakers Vaishali Sinha and Rebecca Haimowitz’s feature-length documentary, “Made in India,” has had a successful opening in India at the International Film Festival in Jaipur.
Dealing with the sensitive subject of surrogacy, the documentary shows the journey of an infertile American couple, an Indian surrogate mother and the reproductive outsourcing business that brings them together.
“Weaving together these personal stories within the context of a growing international industry, ‘Made in India’ explores a complicated clash of families in crisis, reproductive technology and choice from a global perspective,” Sinha, who is also the producer of the film, told Desi Talk.
The documentary follows the lives of Lisa and Brian Switzer from San Antonio, Texas, who sell their house and risk their savings on a medical tourism company that has promised them an affordable solution after seven years of infertility.
Across the world in Mumbai, Aasia Khan puts on a burka – not for religious reasons – but to hide her identity from neighbors as she enters a fertility clinic to be implanted with this American couple’s embryos.
“These are the scenes that unfold as we watch East meet West in suburbs and shantytowns, in test tubes and petri dishes, in surrogates and infertile couples,” Sinha said.
Sinha and Haimowitz are committed to creating work that shows the human stories behind this complex, sometimes controversial, subject matter. “As an American and an Indian working together, we bring different perspectives to the film, a dynamic that has us both asking harder questions, digging into deeper emotional responses,” Sinha said.
Haimowitz told Desi Talk, “As a woman deeply interested in issues of reproductive rights, social justice and global issues, the subject of ‘outsourcing’ surrogacy to India captivated me from the moment I first read about the practice.”
“We have aimed to create a film that goes beyond sensationalist headlines and uncovers the personal lives and choices of the surrogates and the infertile Americans involved,” Sinha added.
According to Haimowitz, “reproductive tourism” has become a booming trade, valued at more than $450 million in India, and it’s growing rapidly.
“Infertile couples in the U.S. pay up to $100,000 for a domestic surrogacy, but they can pay for the same in India for roughly $25,000” including clinic charges, lawyer’s bills, travel and lodging and the surrogate’s fee, she said.
 “But this growth is occurring within a complete legal vacuum: currently there are no actual laws on surrogacy in India - only suggested guidelines. And yet the practice continues to expand without regulation or protection.”
As Aasia and the Switzers’ stories grow increasingly tied together – the bigger picture behind the globalization of the reproductive industry begins to unfold – revealing questions of citizenship, human rights, global corporate practices, choice, reproductive rights, commodification of the body, legal accountability and notions of motherhood.
Throughout the film, scenes of America and India are juxtaposed, charting out the obstacles faced by the U.S. couple, and giving an intimate understanding of the surrogate’s life story and motivations.
 According to the filmmakers, the documentary explores the impact of the decisions of one person over the other.
This film reveals the legal and ethical implications behind their choices and presents the conflict between the personal and the political dilemmas of international surrogacy, they said.
“Made in India” was premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival in May 2010 as a festival favorite receiving three screenings due to popular demand. The film has been awarded several grants and most recently a nomination by the Ridenhour Institute’s Documentary Prize for excellence in truth-telling.
Originally from Bombay and now settled in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sinha also co-directed the short documentary, “Red Roses,” exploring the lives of South Asian women who come to the U.S. via marriage and family obligations, and “Choose Life?” a short narrative about abortion and personal choice. She is currently co-directing the film “Kashmir,” personal narratives of university students of Kashmir.