Spare a thought

“I was an officer in one of the mills and I have witnessed the kind of hardships that the mill workers faced. The closing down of these mills didn’t affect officers like us that much but it destroyed the workers and their families,” says Janyant Pawar who wrote a play,Adhankar,on the lives of the mill workers

Glitzy shopping malls and highrises stand on the very place where these cotton mills stood. “These workers embodied the undying spirit of the city. They played a pivotal role in the evolution of modern day Mumbai. And then suddenly it was like they never existed,” says Pawar who was in the city to promote the film City of Gold based on his play which releases next Friday.

Pawar’s play was considered to be a landmark in the history of Marathi theatre. It won a number of awards in 1997-98 — it bagged total 39 awards. The play was also acclaimed as a piece of literature. It won the award of the Best Literatary Piece,given by Maharashtra Foundation,a US-based Organisation of US based NR Maharastriya and is considered to be the best award for Marathi Literature.

But these are just recognitions which Pawar accepted gracefully. My effort was to take it to a larger audience. To let people across India know about the real story behind the glitzy malls and nightclubs,” says Pawar.

Which is why he took his story to reputed filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar a few years back. “Though cinema is a different medium than theatre,I was confident that this story will translate fluently on screen,” says Pawar. Manjrekar was deeply moved by the story and connected to it personally. “He had many friends who were sons of the mill workers. He told me that he had many friends who were sons of mill workers but her never cared to find out about them after the infamous 1980s mill strike,” says Pawar.

The City of Gold also narrates the birth of Mumbai’s underbelly,claims Pawar. “The birth of organised crime in Mumbai took place roughly around the same time. Land became a currency of growth then and those who stood between the greedy land sharks and prized properties were just mowed down,” says Pawar. His play,claims Pawar,is relevant even today because many mill workers are still fighting for their rights. “This film may change the apathetic attitude towards them,” hopes Pawar.

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