Invisible lives, mundane realities

KOCHI:  The 27th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala explores the mundane lives of common men, too, through its lineup of films. The aftermath of the pandemic had led to a rise in unemployment, which made many take up the job of food delivery. Delving on the subject were two films at the IFF –  Zwigato (Hindi) by actor-turned-filmmaker Nandita Das and Bakki Vannavar (Malayalam) directed by debutante Amal Prasi.

Zwigato speaks about the life of a family man, Manas ( Kapil Sharma), who had to take up a food delivery job to take care of his five-member family living in Bhubaneshwar. The movie, explores unemployment issues, discusses the plight of delivery executives and society’s attitude towards them.

 The film was an outcome of her observations during the pandemic crisis. “The story delves into Manas who becomes a food delivery man after he loses his job due to the pandemic. Food delivery men were our saviours during the pandemic,” she says.

“The film addresses such concerns, as one is ready to do any job when left unemployed. I felt the importance of addressing things around us and the film is just one such attempt.” Zwigato also deals with social disparities as well, adds Nandita. “The film is not only about the economy, but is also about the disparity in gender, caste, class…. These factors got layered into the film,” she says. 

“In modern India, these disparities are hidden as the lives of common men have become invisible. Just regular lives, small losses of dignity, and small indignation are not explored much now. Zwigato portrays the working class as invisible as it is in real life.”

However, youngster Amal Prasi’s debut directorial, Bakki Vannavar, is a reflection of the real-life incidents he and his friends went through in their lives. “Unemployment is a serious issue that we all youngsters face,” he says. “The ‘delivery boy’ is a representation of today’s youth. I don’t believe delivery wrokers were considered saviours by society beyond social media. Some of our crew members and actors used to be food delivery workers in real life. So I was able to weave in real-life instances in the film, which was short with a budget of Rs 12,000.”