Panaji: Inklab, a film based on citizen activism, made much before the Anna Hazare movement picked up in the country, will be screened in the forthcoming edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in its Short Film Center section here.
Chandigarh-based filmmaker Dr Gaurav Chhabra has shot this guerilla film which he says is based on his personal experience in activism. The zero budget film made in Cinema verite style, he said is set in the socio-political scenario and times when India is fighting against corruption and a sizable mass movement has
already built up across the nation for a pro-people democracy.
Inklab is a short film inspired from Bhagat Singh's act of protesting by exploding a bomb in the Parliament. "The bombs, as planned, did not kill or hurt anyone but in the times of Mahatma Gandhi and popular non-violent freedom
struggle, such an act was immediately labeled as 'violent'," he recalls.
The film talks of decentralisation of citizen activism and does not support concentration of power in any arena. Chhabra said the film was made much before the Anna Hazare movement picked up and was released on April 8, the day when Bhagat Singh threw bomb in the central assembly in 1929. "The film goes beyond the narrow view of elite's and upper middle class on revolution," he said.
Short Film Centre of IFFI is a concept of Entertainment Society of Goa, a nodal agency to host the fest, where short filmmakers are given a platform to showcase their talents. Chhabra said that Inklab would be opening for the first time at IFFI but his earlier short films like Mudcake won World Health Organization (WHO) Health Film award in 2007 at Switzerland; Green Warriors of Chandi's Fortress won Green Apple Award in 2009 in USA, and Taste of Berry won award at We Care film festival in 2008 at Delhi.
"Its an uncomfortable film to watch as there hardly are any faces shown in the film.. the main aim is to spread the idea (of citizen activism) further..," he quipped. The 42nd edition of IFFI commences from November 23 here and ends on December 3.
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