On Monday morning, many film lovers who thronged the Kairali theatre to watch a long documentary film listed in the competition section of the 16th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of India (IDSFFK) were in for a surprise.
Summary in Lalit Vachhani’s Festival Booklet prisoner no. 626710 is present He said the documentary is about a jail inmate waiting endlessly for a bail hearing in court, while two of his friends awaiting his release discuss the events and circumstances that led to his arrest.
Even though the prisoner’s number is a random number, the face on the screen is a familiar one, speaking from the heart about his ideals. In the video before his arrest, he speaks passionately about Mahatma Gandhi’s values, which are under attack in today’s times. He calls on the listening crowd to respond to hate with love. Not a word related to violence escapes his lips, which display a calm smile even when violent-mannered television anchors hurl harsh words at him.
Filmmaker Vachhani has brilliantly captured the absurdity of the situation by presenting in full the speech on the basis of which the man has been accused, along with the violent words of several other people who are roaming free without any case.
Since his experience represents many other undertrials who remain in jail indefinitely awaiting a fair trial, not mentioning his name seems more than just a subversive act. His number alone would suffice because what he is going through could be the case for many others who have gone through similar experiences.
As her friend said when asked about her hopes of release, a convicted person has certainty about the day of release, but an undertrial prisoner does not have such a luxury.
Her friend shows off the home library she has built, which contains the books she read during the years she spent as an undertrial in prison. The variety of books she has read gives an impression of a mind whose ideas, now confined within four walls, could have added a lot to our public sphere.
It also speaks volumes about the times we live in, when a documentary cannot be given the name it should be.
