Gaon – A Tale Of Two India

Award-winning filmmaker, Gautam Sigdar, this time is coming out with a story of an Indian village, which remained secret for centuries and ultimately finds the course of its destiny changed forever after receiving a visitor. Gautam’s new project Gaon is inspired by the true story of his own village in Jharkhand, India.

Film revolves around a secret village called Bharatgaon which was founded by revolutionaries during British era to save the culture and civilisation of India. Generations of villagers have upheld the principal rule of Bharatgaon mandating that no one leave, and as a result, the village has remained secret and untouched for centuries. The founders believed that the new Western-modeled civilization emerging within India at the time ran against the human spirit and would ultimately imprison citizens within unshakable chains of slavery. Their intention was to save at least one village.

Explaining the film Gautam says, “This film is inspired by the true story of my village in Jharkhand, India. Once in this remote and isolated community, villagers coexisted like members of a large extended family where they maintained a unique way of life—mellow and harmonious, celebratory and united. With the passage of time and the evolution of modernity, government and private agencies alike made inroads into this simple community, throwing open the floodgates of drastic change which would come to erode the very fabric of village society. With the arrival of new institutions such as government schools, a police force, and a banking system, money began pouring in from this wave of development projects. The village entered a transformatory phase, coming to possess many of the same amenities found in modern urban centers around the world. Citizens disengaged from one another, growing progressively private, limiting interaction, and keeping to themselves and their families. The agricultural way of life and the traditional spirit of self-sufficiency were shunned in favour of reliance on government support or the earnings of a single family member working in the city. With such pervasive change, the very nature of what the village once was seems to have vanished. Regrettably, so many villages across India share the same story of erosion”.

Gautam further adds, “This film is an attempt to pack 200 years of India’s history into two hours of cinema. Herein, The Village called Bharatgaon, is itself the protagonist whose character unrecognizably transforms given events transpiring around and in it. Bharatgaon and lead male character Bharat serve as metaphors for the state of India, though representing diametrically opposed interpretations while simultaneously residing within one nation – competing, confronting, and falling for each other. This film is the outcome of those encounters”.

Impressed with Gautam’s story, Aljazeera Media Network has done a documentary on the making of Gaon which is releasing worldwide this September.

 ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Gautam’s documentary ‘My Sister Laxmi’ recently won the ‘Award of Merit’ in the ‘International Film Awards Berlin’ and the ‘Best Documentary Jury Award’ in the 4th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival.

His eight-part (one hour each) documentary series ‘Indian Hospital’ and ‘Indian Hospital Revisited’ was the three top finalists for ‘best documentary series’ BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) in 2013.

Gautam’s other film ‘Daughters of the Brothel’, ended up changing the fortune of a Bihar brothel. After watching this film, people from around the world sent fund to the trust set up by the lead character, Naseema. She was eventually able to turn entire brothel into a small-scale industry hub.

Last year Gautam did an investigative documentary on Jharia mines called ‘The Burning City’.

MAIN CASTS

  Gopal K Singh as Vaidji

Gopal is known for his works in Bollywood films like Budha in the traffic Jam, Page3, Ek Hasina thi, Traffic Signal, Culcutta Mail, Company, Bardast, Hate Story, Lethal Commission, Darna Jaroori Hai, Mumbai Mirror, Jail and many more

 Neha Mahajan as Sango

Neha has played lead role several well-known films such as Midnight’s Children (2012), Coffee Ani Barach Kahi (2015), Youth (2016), TTMM (2017) etc.

  Rohit Pathak as Mangla

Rohit Pathak is an actor, known for Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010), Mithya (2008) and Jannat 2 (2012).

  Shadab Kamal as Bharat

Shadab Kamal is an actor, known for B.A. Pass (2012), Meeruthiya Gangsters (2015) and Har Har Byomkesh (2015).

 Omkar Das Manikpuri as Sambhu

Omkar Das Manikpuri is an actor, known for Peepli Live (2010), India’s Daughter (2015) and Monsoon Shootout (2013).

 Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Vaidji

Dibyendu Bhattacharya is an actor, known for Dev.D (2009), Black Friday(2004) and Lootera (2013).

—————–Ashwani Singh (PRO)