Searching for Memories

The three-and-half minute ad was shot in different areas in Delhi,including an old haveli in Connaught Place,Red Fort,India Gate and a small scene in Lahore,Pakistan. “We have all heard stories about Partition and how friends and families were separated. So the background for the ad was set,” says Mumbai-based Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures who directed the commercial. Singer Clinton Cerejo has given the music.

As the ad begins we see an 80-something Baldev (VM Badola) in his small store in Delhi narrate the stories of his childhood to his granddaughter Suman (Auritra Ghosh). He remembers the times he spent with his best friend,Yusuf (MS Sathyu),flying kites in a park in Lahore and stealing jhajariyas from Yusuf’s Fazal Sweets. This sends the granddaughter on an online search until she speaks to Yusuf himself. And on her grandfather’s birthday,she arranges a reunion between Yusuf and Baldev.

The ad has got an overwhelming response on YouTube. “A viewer told me that his grandfather handed his business to his associates,when he moved to India after the Partition. After seeing the ad,he looked it up,and found it thriving. Now he’s planning to connect with his associates again,” says Sharma.

“The real magic happened on the sets,” says Sharma. Badola and Sathyu knew each other from before and would often tease each other on the sets. They have been lauded for their performances,especially the moment they meet each other for the first time. “I don’t work on a computer and I have no idea what Google is. But I am glad to be a part of what I thought was a very sentimental story,” says Sathyu.

People are now sharing their Partition stories over social media. “What’s interesting is that the younger generation has only heard stories about Partition,so it’s fantastic to see them so attached to the story,” says Sharma.