The documentary featured in the 13th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFK) in the Long Documentary Competition category was shot around the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, focusing on the day-to-day lives of the people living in and around Thane . railway station in mumbai
One of Neeraj Menon’s most captivating scenes, for a documentary film mostly focused on people forced to live on the streets Dastur (ritual) An exchange between two women over the most comfortable places to sleep at night.
One tells the other that his family is sleeping that night in the upper area because there is more wind. It almost seems as if they enjoy the freedom of sleeping out in the open, with a wide variety of places to choose from, although this is far from the truth.
Screened in the Long Documentary Competition category at the 13th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), the documentary was shot around the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, focusing on the day-to-day lives of the people living in and around Thane. Railway station in Mumbai.
Government’s indifference
Most of them on whom the makers train their lenses are upfront about their situation, some of them dreaming of not having a better life for themselves and getting an education for their children to survive the streets. While others display awareness of how governments don’t care while meeting the demands of the outspoken middle class and corporates.
The focus of the documentary is not only on the people living there, but also on the people who use the station. In a longer sequence, a woman, who says she is a retired teacher, talks about how “nuisance” they are and proudly tells the policemen about their efforts to drive them away.
“Will this solve the problem?” The director asks him. From her class point of view and life experiences, the people on the streets are the problem, not the economic structure that forced them to live there.
main cause
However, at the same time, there are others who understand the root cause. One of those on the streets briefly explained the story of how a farmer was forced to come to the city in search of a job after his crop failed.
As academic and social critic Sunil P. Allydom has pointed out in the film, there will be no major change in the lives of the poor in the country unless poverty is treated and understood as a human rights issue.
The documentary leads viewers to think that there is a lack of focused intervention on the part of governments.
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