Women who once carried weapons are now preparing to face the camera. Nine former Naxal women from Sukma, who have left the movement and are rebuilding their lives, are set to get an opportunity to act in a Hindi film, opening a new chapter in their journey back into the mainstream.The opportunity came after their appearance at a handloom fashion show in Raipur. Women from the Sukma rehabilitation centre walked the ramp in traditional Chhattisgarhi handloom attire at an event organised by the Gramodyog Department on National Handloom Day in August.Their confident appearance caught the attention of filmmaker Aakash Aditya Lama, director of ‘Bengal 1947’. Lama, who has himself worked in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, expressed his desire to work with the women in one of his upcoming films.The film is expected to be shot at various locations across Chhattisgarh, including Sukma, in November and December.Before stepping on to the film set, the women will audition for roles. Those selected will subsequently undergo a 10-15-day acting workshop to learn the nuances of the craft.An official from the team that organised the fashion show said the filmmaker approached the department after watching the women walk the ramp.“He came to meet our commissioner and secretary after the show and expressed his desire to make a film with the women. Since the girls walked the ramp with confidence, the director felt they could also face the camera and expressed his interest in working with them,” the official said.For the women, the journey from a rehabilitation centre to a fashion ramp and now potentially to a film set represents a striking departure from the path they once followed. Having surrendered and returned to mainstream society, they are now being given an opportunity to learn a new skill and present themselves on a public platform.The film opportunity offers these women more than a chance to appear on screen. It could provide an avenue to build a new identity after leaving behind their past and beginning life afresh.What began with a walk in traditional handloom attire could now take nine women from Sukma to a film set, giving them an opportunity to tell a very different story about themselves — and about a changing Bastar.