Bipuljit Basu: Redlight to Limelight
By recommendation of Latvian producer Uldis Cekulis I watched this film on a big tv screen. He was right Uldis, it is a film with a big heart. I found – on the director’s website – a synopsis that I agree to:
“Rabin, Bilkis, Afsara and a team of sex-working nocturnal mothers are arc-lighting the dark and greasy lanes of Kalighat (in Kolkata,ed.) that happened to be an independent brothel for the working class. The team forms their native film production enterprise called CAM ON, a breather that binds the hopeless members to dare to smile.They shoot their original stories and upload compelling videos reflecting on the pressing issues of the community on YouTube. Through an immersive engagement and inspired by hopes, CAM ON breaks open a new dream to fight discrimination, hostile local vested interests and corrupt police for an escape to victory – by freeing the young girls from the brothel through skills and creativity amidst the joy of storytelling.”
And I would add Meena as one of the important protagonists – she takes extra from her customers to support CAM ON, a special way of fundraising!
Rabin, however, is the central character, who picks the stories and characters. We see him doing the casting, explain to the groups, what the story is about, take lovely care of the two girls Bilkis and Afsara, who are to be shining stars of his film. The latter, Afsara is taken to a casting in a studio in the city, she fails but Rabin takes her back and gives her an important role in the film that he directs, the film in the film. There are numerous wonderful scenes to be happy about, documentary scenes, directed scenes, neorealism got into my mind, it’s all so fresh and lively and natural and of course it had to end with a public screening, where the screen is made of cloth, the announcement poster hand-written. Wonderful.
One fine emotional scene I would like to highlight – when Rabin visits his grandmother, who cooks a small meal for him, constantly asking if he wants more curry; he does not want to have any connection to his sex-working mother or end up as a pimp. (What would documentaries be without grandmothers I am asking myself!). Not to forget the fine scenes with Bilkis and Afsara, the latter in focus after the screening, alive and shining, a film star, (warning: spoiler!) with a tough part in the story Rabin wrote and shot.
The film, brilliantly put together by Bipuljit Basu, had its premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest, that is why it is not competing at IDFA, but there are still tickets for screenings to be found in Amsterdam, and for the Copenhagen audience, I would guess that the film will be picked for CPH:DOX?
India, Latvia, Finland, 2025, 1 h. 40 mins.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
