Actor and farmer Raj Singh Verma's next movie Bajra v/s Burger is a lesson in shedding trappings of city life in exchange for a healthier one
It was a migraine problem that proved to be the tipping point for actor and producer Raj Singh Verma. The advertising professional, whom you will recognise from TV shows such as Jahan Pe Ho Basera and Uttaran, had been suffering splitting migraines till two years ago. Painkillers were his go-to resolution, till the problem got out of hand and forced him to visit a neurosurgeon. And then it came to fore - food and stress were the most likely culprits. A 10-day trip to an Ayurvedic resort in Kerala proved the assumption right. Here, Verma didn't suffer a single episode.
"It comes down to what you put in your system. It was also then that I realised that I needed to eat healthy and self-source food that was contamination free," says the 35-year-old. This led him to first start a home kitchen garden at his Yari Road flat. The lifestyle shift also had him take to cycling, in a bit to reduce his carbon imprint. He also bought farms - one in Jaipur and another in Karjat - where he plans to practice natural farming. "The aim is to mimic the jungle and indulge in companion farming.
This is not about business. So, I want to grow produce that is local to the region. For example, aloe vera grows naturally in Rajasthan. That's the path I wish to follow on my farms." He also used this time to talk to farmers and realised that most want to shift to the city and lead the "good life". That's when he decided to make the movie, Bajra v/s Burger, which he describes as a laugh riot.
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"I want people to know how they can change their lives and live healthily. It won't happen if I try and do that by showing them documentation. But if I show them an entertaining movie, they will get it." The movie is about a villager who shifts to the city, and how the contamination seeps into his life, and before he knows it, it's too late, and he's already stuck in the EMI rut.
The plan is to release the movie in theatres in January and online in February, but before that, Verma will hold screenings and sessions at schools and villages. "There should be a three-fold takeaway - farmers should realise that the life here is not as rosy as they think, and that their own life is much better; and I want to teach city goers how to balance their life by practices like vertical gardening; and how they can improve the quality of their food by shopping at farmer's markets (even if the produce here is slightly more expensive) so that they eat healthily and also give motivation to farmers."
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