GOWRI MANICKAVASAGAM
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 23
Gujarati film “Bharat Maro Desh Che” based on the book “Sarnama Vagarna Manvio” written by activist Mittalben Patel, Founder, Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch’ (VSSM), has won 6 awards at “Gujarat State Awards 2021” organized by Gujarat Government recently.
- The film is based on Mittalben Patel’s book, “Sarnama Vagarna Manvio”, which gave an identity to nomadic community or vicharti vimukt of Gujarat
- The film revolves around their daily struggles and the problems they face due to not having proper citizenship documents despite being born in India
- After the film was made, one of the women became sarpanch of a village in Idar Assembly constituency: Hitu Kanodia, Actor-Politician
- It was screened in Ahmedabad on Thursday night for celebrities from the Gujarati film, drama world and the media fraternity
- The film will soon be released on OTT platform for wider reach of its message
Mittal has been working for the uplift of 28 nomadic tribes and 12 notified tribes (NT-DNT) for the past 16 years. Due to her contribution, these tribes were identified in India as citizens, issued Aadhaar and ration cards and now getting all benefits from the government schemes.
Mittalben has presented the pains and stories of the people of this caste in her book and the whole thing has been beautifully portrayed in the movie “Bharat Maro Desh Che” made under the banner of Kavach-Kundal Media Productions.
Sharing his thoughts with the media, well-known actor Hitu Kanodia, who played the lead role in the film, said, “This film is a different one in my career, in which the director has shown the nomadic caste and their story in a different perspective, which the audience will enjoy and know. The film was shot in 2020 during the pandemic period following the first lockdown. The unit faced several hurdles while shooting the film as we have to follow the stringent COVID safety measures. Despite all odds the team kept going because for us the message we needed to send through the film was too important to pause the filming.”
“The film was shot at the real-life locations of Idar and Rabari vaas falling in my Idar Assembly constituency. One of the women from a nomadic tribe contested in a local body poll in my constituency, and became the sarpanch (village head), the real symbol of women empowerment. Thus this film has sent a positive message to the society that inclusivity is the hall mark of democracy. My aim of acting in this socially relevant film has really paid rich dividends. I am very happy with this development,” added the actor-turned politician.
Krishna Shah, Producer of the film said, “A good film is never possible without a good team. Each and every actor & crew member is important for the film. We have presented the life of the nomadic tribes in our film very beautifully. ‘Bharat Maro Desh Che’ is a film very close to my heart. The story of nomadic tribes who live right in front of us and yet we fail to actually see them. Every person living in this country has the right to citizenship.”
Krishna Shah’s father Sanjay Shah “Jackie” have also done a lot of work to do justice to this film.
Writer and director of this film is Bhavin Trivedi. Talented actors like Hitu Kanodia, Denisha Ghumra, Kausumbi Bhatt, Manisha Trivedi, Prashant Barot, Raju Barot have beautifully performed in this film.. It is worth mentioning that the film was made during the lock down and will soon be released on the OTT platform.
The film won the Best Film on Women Empowerment at the Gujarat State Awards 2021 organized by the Government of Gujarat. For this, the Best Film Producer Award went to Krishna Shah and Director Bhavin Trivedi received 2 awards for the Best Director and Best Director for Women Empowerment. Denisha Ghumra, who played the lead role in the film, also received an award from the state government for best actress in a film about women empowerment and Manisha Trivedi won the award of supporting actress. Also, the award of the best dress designer was given to costume designer Pauravi Joshi.
The film, which accurately and sensitively addresses the issue of basic rights of nomads and alienated castes, has been honored at national and international level film festivals, including London Independent Film Awards, Noida International Film Festival, Jaipur International Film Festival and the Bharat International Film Awards.
It was screened in Ahmedabad on Thursday night for celebrities from the Gujarati film, drama world and the media fraternity. The film will soon be released on OTT platform for wider reach of its message.
