Journalism of Courage
When a city becomes a character,filmmakers look at the underbelly for stories untold
It was the gripping sights and sounds that drew the attention of Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK towards the juxtaposition of various kinds of lives on the same cityscape. In short,it felt like we were sitting in an auto rickshaw at a signal with a Mercedes on one side and a gang of loafers on their bikes on the other, recounts Nidimoru who was so taken in by his journey from Bandra to South Mumbai,that it worked as an inspiration for him and Krishna to write the ensemble film,Shor,with Mumbai as the only constant character through the film.
Filmmaker Ruchi Narain,who has directed the segment Jo Palti Nahin Woh Rickshaw Kya in Mumbai Cutting,feels that the lives of the unseen have more colour than the sheltered lifestyle we live. To most of them,surviving from one day to the next is an adventure. Crime at various levels penetrates into it in ways we cannot imagine. Our drivers or maids get to meet big industrialists and stars by the day on their job but may have drug lords or murderers for neighbours when they return home. And that makes their points of view interesting. Even chronicling one day of their lives can be a story in itself, she explains. In tandem,her segment is on the experiences of an NRI who sees life through her interactions with autorickshaw drivers.
How well does one have to know the city before one digs out a story from its lesser known side? While filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee,who used his hometown Delhi as a backdrop in his films,Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!,feels that intimacy is essential,Raghavan points out that most filmmakers who have chronicled the city best,like Ram Gopal Varma and Anurag Kashyap,have been outsiders. It gives you a perspective that insiders may lack, he explains.
Nidimoru,whose Shor tells stories of an NRI,a bootlegger and a young boy who wants a career in cricket,feels that no city can be used as a character in entirety unless it is explored at all levels. Wed be alienating a big part of Mumbai,had we focussed on only the underbelly. Be it the rich or otherwise,all lives come together at some point there is a clash,like in Dhobi Ghat.
