A Documentary Film About Seven Sisters Who Dared to Change Everything
In the heart of Rajasthan, India, where centuries-old tradition dictates who may work, who may speak, and who may lead, eight women decided to do the unthinkable. When Bhagwanti Mohanlal’s husband passes away, she and her seven daughters inherit his spice business — and the choice that comes with it: walk away, or fight to keep it alive.
They choose to fight.
A Story of Courage, Family, and the Cost of Defiance
The spice trade in Rajasthan has always been a man’s world. For Bhagwanti and her daughters — Nikki, and her six sisters — stepping behind the counter means stepping into the line of fire. They are verbally abused in the marketplace. Publicly humiliated. Members of their own family cut ties with them entirely.
Then comes the acid attack.
One of the daughters, Nikki, is targeted by an acid-thrower — one of the most savage and deliberately disfiguring forms of violence used to punish “disobedient” women across India. She survives only through sharp reflexes and sheer luck. The attack does not stop them.
Guided by their mother’s hard-won wisdom and the extraordinary quality of their spices, the sisters push forward. They out-compete the surrounding stores. Their reputation grows. Word spreads. What began as an act of survival becomes something far larger: the first women-owned spice business in Rajasthan — and one of the most successful spice businesses in all of India.
A Revolution Measured in Saffron and Solidarity
The Spice Girls of Rajasthan is not just a film about spices, or even about one remarkable family. It is a film about what happens when women refuse to disappear — and what that refusal costs them, and gives them.
As the business expands internationally, Bhagwanti and her daughters are doing something else too: actively helping other women in their community find economic independence. Their story is becoming a blueprint. A proof of concept. Evidence that the system can be challenged — and changed.
This is the story that filmmaker Gillian Greenfeld and the team at Cielo Films have been granted exclusive access to tell.
About the Film
The Spice Girls of Rajasthan is currently in production, directed by Gillian Greenfeld — anthropologist, documentary filmmaker, and president of Vancouver-based Cielo Films. Gillian’s previous film, Phoolan, told the story of India’s legendary Bandit Queen. She brings the same unflinching commitment to this new chapter: a film about women navigating violence, tradition, and transformation in one of the world’s most complex social landscapes.
The production team includes Emmy-winning executive producer Beth Fraikorn, Vancouver filmmaker and three-time Leo Award nominee Baljit Sangra, and cinematographers whose work has appeared on the BBC, National Geographic, and Discovery — including Apal Singh, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated documentary To Kill a Tiger.
Follow the Journey
The Spice Girls of Rajasthan is seeking distribution partners, festival opportunities, and supporters who believe in the power of documentary film to shift perspectives and drive change.
Watch the trailer above, explore the site to meet the team and see production stills from the field, and get in touch if you’d like to be part of bringing this story to the world.