Greener pastures

-- Arvind Sinha, the documentary film-maker is going places. His latest film, Ajit (The Unconquerable), has been selected for screening in the competitive section of the Copenhagen film festival, later this year . Although the film could not bag an award at the Mumbai festival of documentary films, it has brought the President's award for Sinha. The film is about Ajit, a nine-year- old domestic helping hand and his absurd dreams of making it big. For instance, the child dreams of buying a car by robbing rich men.

This is Sinha's third film. His first one was on Mayurbhanj Chhau, an Indian dance form. His second one which was on Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, the dhrupad maestro, had received the national award. But, says he, "I am clearly veering towards environmental issues." His shift could be understood by taking into account the fact that Sinha's roots are in rural Bihar, where he spent a good part of his Ichildhoocl. He is of the opinion that all traditional practices which are part of people's daily lives, have a definite environmental rationale behind them. Indeed, Sinha has come a long way since his days as a struggling film-maker.