BENGALURU: According to the 2011 census, 15 million senior citizens in the country live alone; 25 per cent suffer from depression; one in three suffer from arthritis and one in five cannot hear properly. Keeping this plight of the elderly in mind, Red Polka Productions released a short film this Diwali to highlight the physical and mental turmoil senior citizens go through due to the alienation they are subjected to.
Released on their YouTube and Facebook handles, the film is set during Diwali festivities and is directed by Prataya Saha and produced by Anshulika Kapoor.
It portrays the life of an elderly man as he tries to keep himself afloat in a timeless loop. Nirjan pans through the life of the protagonist in a day’s time, capturing the bouts of depression, hallucinations and amnesia he suffers from.
Before going ahead with the making of the film, Prataya and Anshulika went through some case studies, in order to better understanding the issue.
“What was more alarming was that out of the 15 million elderly who live alone, three-fourths of them are women. When we dug deeper, we found out how pathetic the situation is. There are cases where our elderly are trashed and beaten by their in-laws. In some cases, even their own sons or daughters make them live in sad conditions in old age homes, where they are sometimes beaten by nurses, some even fall and break their bones. Apart from this, in most cases, their mental health deteriorates –– they get dementia and hypertension,” said Prataya.
“Inspired by a true event, the story is about how an elderly couple suffers due to their families breaking down. Families today are becoming predominantly nuclear, because of which our elderly are not being looked after. You’ll find many documentaries about this but hardly any films, since filmmakers have stopped talking about this important topic,” Prataya explained.
Describing the film, Prataya said, “Nirjan means isolated. The story looks at what all he goes through the length of the day, not only in the house but also in his head. We look at the physical and mental hardship he faces as he tries to cope.”
Manosh Sengupta plays the lead character in the film, where his perspective is reflected with the help of
Urdu-Hindi poetry, written by Mohit Kataria. The verse that resonates with his state of mind, which starts with Shaamein Akeli Achhi Nahi Lagti, Shaamein Akeli Achhi Nahi Lagti... leaves the audience with a haunted sense of guilt about the older generation. The film is out for limited release and can be viewed on YouTube or their Facebook page Nirjan.