Stories from the mega Mumbai

The idea for the film Megacities 1998 the first in a trilogy by director Michael Glawogger emerged from an article that he read in Newsweek in 1995 ldquoThe article said that from that time on more people on this planet live in cities than in the countryside A still from the documentary Megacities 1998 which traces the myriad faces that work behindthescenes in the city The still shows a worker making ochre colour for Holi It felt to me like a turning point in human history I was thinking about writing a fictional film where the whole earth is one totally uncontrollable city It started and didnrsquot succeed because I didnrsquot know enough about the real life in big cities By the time I finished the film I got intrigued by the concept of exploring life in different places around the globe that I hadnrsquot done until thenrdquo he says The fascinating and at times shocking film showcased the contradiction that the inhabitants of Bombay now Mumbai New York Mexico City and Moscow encounter in their daytoday life The story is narrated through a tale of 12 episodes about people struggling to survive with resourcefulness humour and dignity and the one illusion they all share mdash the dream of a better life Glawogger states that he wanted to explore what cities do to people and how human behavior changes when so many people surround you He also adds that there was a conscious attempt to be as nonjudgemental as possible ldquoBe it megacities workers or prostitutes mdash the reality is always more complex and surprising than told by those people who made a theme or an issue out of it The human soul surprisingly is a diverse fieldrdquo he states A still from the documentary Whorersquos glory 2011 which delves on the life of prostitutes around the world Among the various cities where the film was shot Glawogger reminisces that the areas of Govandi Shantinagar and Dharavi were especially challenging thanks to the curious onlookers that surrounded them ldquoThe sequence of the train ride into Mumbai was a real challenge Sometimes it took us four hours for one shot In Russia on the opposite everybody pretended that we were not there it was like we were invisible In Mexico people have to know you very well to open up to you whilst in the US the normal citizen wants to be part of a movie whatever it might berdquo While the film was made and released more than a decade ago Glawogger feels that its relevant even in todayrsquos times The remaining two films that make up the trilogy will be showcased over the next two months thanks to an initiative by The Root Reel and the Indian Documentary Foundation IDF Says Anjali Vyas Foundation Director of the IDF ldquoMegacities has been invited to more than 50 festivals around the world The film focuses on dignity of labour mdash the choices one has to make or is forced to make for survivalrdquo She adds that the idea behind screening these documentaries is to ensure the public has access to good quality documentaries that are not easily available On Today 630 pm At Alliance Francaise Auditorium Theosophy Hall New Marine Lines Churchgate Call 22035993