For the past three decades, nonfiction filmmaker Anand Patwardhan has used moving images to fearlessly pursue controversial issues in the contemporary social and political life of India. Frequently banned by state-controlled television (whose censorship the filmmaker has challenged in the courts), his films have been widely seen and acclaimed abroad. With a birthright of activism—his family was aligned with Mahatma Gandhi’s movement of passive resistance against injustice and violence—Patwardhan participated in protests against the Vietnam War, served as a volunteer for Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Worker’s Union, and was active in the democratic rights movement during the state of emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in the mid-1970s. With his camera rarely far from the action, he became a chronicler of the darker side of Indian democracy by exposing the mistreatment of workers, the dangerous political implications of religious fundamentalism, the growing threats of nuclear testing, and the rising tide of ethnic and religious violence. With his newest work, the award-winning War and Peace, Patwardhan confirms his unique position in celebrating the commitment of ordinary people and joining them with his camera to advocate for peace.