Sarvagnanagar is one of the major urban localities in northeast Bengaluru, comprising aspiring young children, exuberant youths and tenacious adults. In simple terms, the area is a synecdoche of the entire Bengaluru.
A new documentary, A New Generation Rising, produced by Azalea Productions and directed by filmmaker Renita George, attempts to capture the moods of this diverse populace, cutting across generations.
And it does so not through statistics or sweeping observations, but by putting real people and their aspirations at the centre of the story.
Take Kavya, for example. She is a Class 10 student who speaks with the confidence of someone who has already taken her first steps towards leadership. She recalls working hard to win her school election and becoming the school captain. Helping her fellow students is part of her role, but her ambitions extend much further. She wants to become a Deputy Commissioner.
Then there is a mother who decides to learn computers to support her children better. Having worked in telecalling, she now dreams of becoming a teacher. Like many parents, her ambitions are also tied to those of her children. She wants them to grow up to become doctors and engineers. The documentary then moves into the world of technology, where Dhanush and Sudhakar are working on a voice-assisted voting machine, which helps the blind to cast their votes. Their own aspirations are firmly rooted in the future. They want to become AI engineers, and their story reflects how technology is becoming part of the dreams of a new generation.
For Jacob Raj and Allen Joshua, the dream is football. Their aspirations are different, but no less compelling. Through their stories, the documentary makes it clear that there is no single definition of success. For one person, it may mean public service; for another, technology, teaching or sport.
That variety is what gives A New Generation Rising its warmth. The film looks at Sarvagnanagar not merely as a locality that has developed over the years, but as a community of people who are constantly trying to move forward.
“Through this film, I wanted to move beyond statistics and capture the real people behind Sarvagnanagar’s progress - their resilience, aspirations and quiet determination. I was fortunate to have a committed and talented team,” says Renita George.
The documentary also looks at the larger picture: one of sanguinity. Minister for Energy and Tourism and Sarvagnanagar MLA K.J. George says the stories featured in the film are the result of sustained efforts within the community.
“These stories are the result of years of consistent effort across schools, health centres and community programmes. This documentary simply holds up a mirror to that work,” he says.
The film’s closing note is its most optimistic one. It exhorts us to encourage, support such budding talents.
You can watch the documentary on YouTube: Watch A New Generation Rising