Agli Baar (2015)

This year, I have been fortunate to watch more documentaries and films out of the mainstream genre, and here’s one. The short film “Agli Baar” was meant to be an Independence Day release, and it is an online release.

The short film is loosely based on the famous poem “First they came…” by Martin Niemoller. The poem goes,

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
Because I was not a Socialist. 

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - 

Because I was not a Trade Unionist. 

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - 

Because I was not a Jew. 

Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.

The short film is set in the context of slum demolitions and addresses religious violence as well. It is provocative, and can make for a great in-person discussion. All of 7 minutes, do watch it.

  

AIDS JaaGo Series (2007)

The idiot box came to my rescue during the weekend-in-between. I watched short films on AIDS awareness produced by Mira Nair as part of the ‘AIDS JaaGo’ series. The storytelling was refreshing.

Take a look.

Mira Nair’s Migration





Santosh Sivan’s Prarambha



Farhan Akhtar’s Positive



Vishal Bharadwaj’s Blood Brothers