‘If you ate today, thank a farmer’. Pragmatically, farmers are the lifeline of Indian economy but realistically, they are the most deprived group of our society. Especially, the Nimar-Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh is brimmed with struggles of marginalized farmers, due to water crisis. The urge to address this issue in a more coherent manner led a writer, philosopher and director Sudhanshu Sharma to conceptualize a film. Being a part of an NGO ‘Vibhavari’ added more fuel to depict the prevailing woes and troubles of farmers in his debut creation ‘Kalichaat’. Kalichaat is based on a novel sharing the same title which is written by Dr. Sunil Chaturvedi, an active Partner of Vibhavari (for the welfare of poor and landless workers).
Kalichaat, a hard black rock, is the part of society that needs to be broken so that the poor enjoy equal rights beneath. In the film, Kalichaat is a huge and stiff black rock that comes in between while digging the well and cannot be broken by human efforts. But, once broken, it is believed that there is colossal of water beneath. The direction of Sudhanshu Sharma and the eye of Raut Jaywant Murlidhar have captured each moment so intensely that you will inevitably sink yourselves in it.
Kalichaat revolves around Sitaram, a poor farmer and his family, who tries everything to step out of the bog, instead goes down into it, in fact much deeper. Sitaram starts digging the well and after going few deep, sees Kalichaat and his journey of dismay begins. Lack of funds for breaking Kalichaat through machine and absence of education traps him in an endless circle of banks, religious gurus and misleading neighbors. Ultimately, when every door of his hope closes, he decides to sacrifice his life too.
This is the real situation of innumerable farmers in India, who feed us with the best possible food but sleep with hunger and starvation. Because of its sensitive theme, captivating direction and real location, the film has received immense recognition at national as well as international level. The dialogues in Malwi have been framed by Dr. Sonal Sharma, another active partner of Vibhavari. The sole aim of making the film was to address the problems faced by poor farmers actively and coherently. A breeze of folk music at different phases adds more glare to it.
Kalichaat Official Website :- www.kalichaat.com/
