INTERVIEW: NANDITA DAS, ACTOR & DIRECTOR
Based on India’s gig economy, it throws light on the staggering disparities between the haves and the have-nots. At the heart of the film is the story of Bhubaneswar-based gig worker Manas Singh Mahto (Kapil Sharma), and his wife, Pratima (Shahana Goswami). Mahto, a food delivery agent, gets into the profession after losing his job as a factory floor supervisor. Through Mahto’s everyday struggles, the film makes a commentary on the invisible lives.
Zwigato is Das’s third feature film as director after Firaaq (2008) and Manto (2018). In an interview with THE WEEK, Das talks about her new film and the gig economy.
Q/ Did the idea of the film come to you during the pandemic?
A/ Yes. In fact, it was the trigger for the film. During the pandemic, we, for our own convenience, became more and more dependent on the gig workers and less and less aware of their struggles. All of us ordered [food] during the pandemic, and seldom did we thank them, or rated them, or even acknowledged their existence. The film is also about many small things that were hidden in plain sight even before the pandemic.
This story is from the April 02, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 02, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI