BATYA POREY ALORAN (STIRRINGS AFTER THE CYCLONE) . Sumit Chowdhury . Produced by Action Aid . 80 minutes
Argues Kolkata-based documentary film maker Sumit Chowdhury, "destruction after any natural calamity records losses as much as it throws up the possibility of building afresh without going back to certain exploitative situations existing in the pre disaster days." This is something he focuses upon in his film made on the aftermath of the 1999 devastating Orissa cyclone. The film is in Oriya, with English subtitles. It records how orphans have found foster mothers whose own children have been washed away in the flood waters. Cameraman Indranil Mukherjee captures the attempts made at rehabilitation, based on interviews and observations by a local social worker.
The rehabilitation process first started with food for work programmes. The mental healing is shown through homes being mended but not necessarily with members of the same family. The last segment captured in camera reflects the fact that self-help tools can and do bring about social reforms.
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