Another proud moment for Panjab University’s department of Indian theatre. It’s alumnus, Rajeev Kumar’s short film has been selected to be screened in the ‘2017 Short Film Corner’ of the Cannes Film Festival from May 22 to 28 – a first for a Punjabi movie on as grievous subject as Dalit oppression.
The 35-minute movie, CHAMM, highlights the ordeal of dalits in the state of Punjab – a state where 28.9% of the population falls in the scheduled caste (SC) category. Incredibly enough, the movie was selected within a month of its release.
“I picked up the story of the movie from a piece of dalit literature. It is about a dalit man trying to take the skin of a dead animal to his village. But, because of the community the man hails from, he does not get any help from people even though he is willing to pay them,” says Rajeev.
His directorial debut, NABAR, won him a national award earlier in 2013. The movie, based on the struggle of a small farmer who fights illegal immigration agencies after his son’s death, captured a major issue that that has plagued Punjab for decades.
For Rajeev , Chamm was the next step to highlight the issues of the masses. “Nabar was on the issue of a Jat Sikh. I also wanted to explore the subject of marginalized people in our society and Chamm is the result of me going through dalit literature,” he says.
ChandigarhX congratulates the young visionary director and wishes him more power.
Source: Times of India
Image Credits: Rajeev Kumar Facebook Profile
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