By day, Prataya Saha works for a business outsourcing company. By night, he sheds his corporate avatar and instead, experiments with the concept of the Indian dreamer. He dabbles on the thought that many Indians young and old have to live their lives with their dreams and aspirations unfulfilled. This drove him to create a movie series around the concept, with his production house, Eastern Light Films.
While the first instalment of his dreamer series focused on the more urban scenario of the dreams of IT employees, the sequel delves into issues that fuelled him when he made a documentary with an NGO in rural Kadapa.
Kadapa left Prataya feeling rattled, he’s accustomed to Facebook clicktivists and slacktivism in outcry over the issues of negligence of the girl child and women empowerment. And no amount of social media outrage, he found, could hold a candle to the goings on in rural Kadapa. Alongside Sandhya Puchalapalli, who rescues abandoned children and gives them a home in her NGO, Aarti Home, Prataya explores the harsh realities faced by the Indian girl child.
“I was appalled by the contrast in the sex ratio of the village, with the girls being only 750 in number, while men dominate,” he says.
Pratyaya witnessed firsthand the disparity caused by the societal norms and familial pressures; he recalls a conversation with a little girl from the village over how differently she was treated in comparison to her younger brother. “When my brother was born, the whole village celebrated and sweets were distributed, whereas when it came to my birth, there were hushed voices and complete silence”
Prataya during his time in Kadapa, observed that the women and girls of the village, did not have a shred of negativity, even with families resorting to drastic methods like female infanticide or abandoning girl children in forest areas to be mauled by predators.
When he asked the girls what they wanted to be, they’d respond to him with wanting to become a doctor or policeman, all with the simple motive of helping the poor and those suffering like themselves.
While filming in Kadapa, Prataya came across the injustice in education as well. Girls were barred from going to school, all because of the narrow minded male chauvinism prevalent in the village. In his experience, he believes that the negligence of education for girls is what keeps man in control. He sees that the thought of a free thinking and independant woman is considered a threat to the male populous in Kadapa.
His experience in Kadapa is what inspires the premise of The Dreamer 2, with Prataya shifting his focus on the surreal world of the girl child and the struggles she must face. The Dreamer 2 will be screened at Lahe Lahe on October 14th in celebration of the girl child alongside Aarti Home, an NGO responsible for the education and welfare of abandoned girls.
What: The Dreamer 2 screening and music confluence
When: October 14th 6.30 pm
Where: Lahe Lahe, 80 Feet Road, Bengaluru
Ticket price: Rs 100
