Camcorder Tales

Inside his house,a television set beams beautiful images from the National Geographic channel. Laldhare says this was the inspiration behind his tryst with videography. In 2006,he had joined a local NGO to assist them in making short videos to create awareness. “I had joined the NGO Apsara,and would help them make socially relevant films.”

In five years,he has worked on more than six short video films,without any formal training in the medium. His passion is his only guide. “I was always interested in filmmaking but didn’t know where to start from,” he says. It was the Goa-based organisation,Video Volunteers,that made Laldhare’s dream come true. Through their ‘Community Correspondent’ programme,they not only provided him the shooting equipment,but also empowered him to tell the stories that mostly remain untold.

Like Laldhare,filmmaking has opened up new avenues for many others as well. The video medium got its impetus from the digital boom. Many people in the urban and suburban areas lapped up the medium to capture everyday moments,even if they didn’t know the technicalities of filmmaking.

Sarita Jain,56,from Nagpur screened her first-ever video in front of a group of friends who came to her house for a kitty party. “I had my daughter’s handycam. I was only familiar with the “start” and the “record” buttons,but I was able to complete a five-minute recording.”

Jain’s video was about a day in the life of her maid,Munni. “I wanted to tell my friends that we should be more sensitive towards our domestic workers. The idea was not to spread sympathy,but to tell them the ground realities,and think of ways to make their condition better. When I showed them what she battled everyday,they became more sensitive towards her.”

Rather than telling their stories simply,both Jain and Laldhare used the video medium because it’s more attractive. Manoj Mathew,programme director at Delhi’s Jeevika Film Festival,says,”Use of the video or film medium has picked up lately,owing to easy availability of cameras. Every phone comes with a “record” button now. In fact,we get a few entries from people with no technical background. They have learnt on-the-job or by observing others,and they produce remarkable stuff.”

He may have a point. For instance,FlyOver ,a film made by Pune Municipal Corporation’s senior clerk,Ganesh Kadam,was screened at the Pune International Film Festival 2010,and was also selected for the Nashik International Film Festival 2010,Gujarat International Film festival 2011 and was nominated at the Jaipur International Film Festival 2010. The 33-year-old filmmaker attended a weekend course on filmmaking in 2005 at Pune’s Agriculture College to begin with. The short film highlights the importance of using flyover,and showed how many people died while crossing the railway line. “When I thought of making the film on this subject,we had no source of funding. The film was made with contributions of the PMC staff and my own salary,and equipment was taken on rent.”

Kadam is currently working on two new projects,Sachin out on 11 and Standard First . He says he chose the video medium because he wanted to communicate his thoughts to a larger audience. Ditto for Rohini Pawar,25,from Jejuri,a village near Pune,who now records stories about her village and posts them on a website called India Unbound ,which is affiliated to Video Volunteers.