'Kajol Mashi' portrays plight of domestic helps during lockdown

With YouTube replacing big

screens during the ongoing lockdown, Bengali film director Nandita Roy's short film 'Kajol Mashi' is a tribute to house maids and people like peons, drivers and others "who are our constant support system".

The film, a part of lockdown short stories, streamed on YouTube from May 14, also addresses the issue of migrant labourers who are faced with unprecedented crisis during the lockdown, she said.

The plight of domestic helps with many people asking them not to come during the coronavirus pandemic for the fear of getting infected has been portrayed by Roy in her film.

"Though many of us have banged the door on their faces during the pandemic, their true worth remains unrealised during normal times," the director said.

 

Another film 'Dure Thaka Kachher Manush', an Indo- Bangla collaboration, directed by Shahriar Palak on coronavirus failing to separate two best friends stuck in separate cities is being streamed from May 12.

Bikram Chatterjee of Tollygunje film industry essays the role of an epidemiologist, Rafiath Rashid Mithila of Dhaka portrays the character of a journalist in the film.

The director said, after developing the short story of Abhra Chakraborty, "We shared the scripts with the two actors who shot the sequences in their respective locations with their own mobile phones on separate dates under my online direction. The final product came out after the actors sent the footage and the editing was done."

The film also highlighted that though the two cities have a physical disconnect during the lockdown, a mental connect and common language binds them.

The funds raised by making the short will be donated to the cine workers in Dhaka and Kolkata, many of whom have been rendered jobless in the wake of the pandemic.

In a new web series, actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Ankush Hazra have teamed up in 'Case Jaundice' having episodes such as Humans Vs. Corona (Manush Bonam Corona Virus), Police Vs. Mask (Police Bonam Mukhosh Pora Jonogon), Work Vs Home (Office bonam Poribar) being streamed from May 15.

"Case Jaundice is a satire of 10 episodes. Two lawyers present an argument in a courtroom, one of them representing human beings and the other coroma virus. Five episodes are being streamed from May 15 while the rest five will be streamed from May 22," Director Subhankar Chattopadhay said.

Parambrata Chattopadhyay said, "We had a lot of fun shooting from home. It looked a bit unfamiliar at first but we enjoyed the experience.