Dispatch from Dubai: Kaushik Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi

“I am not handicapped,” says Khoka, the protagonist of Kaushik Ganguly’sChotoder Chobi, when he is offered a seat reserved for the physically challenged on public transport. Khoka is a dwarf. The film by Kaushik Ganguly tells the story of people affected by dwarfism and their fight for existence and a normal life.

Khoka (Dulal Sarkar) works as a clown in a circus. His life takes a turn when his colleague- Shibu, also a dwarf-meets with an accident. Khoka is entrusted with the responsibility of handing over the compensation to Shibu’s family. He meets his daughter Soma and strikes a bond immediately. Soma suffers from the same physical condition as Khoka.

The story examines various issues at deeper emotional level- self pity versus self respect, survival versus existence, choice versus compromise and ultimately realism and romanticism. Ganguly successfully shows how most dwarfs who work in circus live a sorry life far removed from the laughter they generate through their performances. His characters articulate the day-to-day challenges of normal existence and all they need is a chance to fit in and assimilate in the society. Soma and Khoka are strong characters that help avoid cliched reactions like sympathy and pity. It’s commendable that the filmmaker makes a conscious effort to not show the characters as victims.

The lead actors and the supporting cast in the film are all non-actors who deliver genuine performances. The film has its high points like Khoka describing Shibu’s tragedy to friends wearing a Mickey Mouse mask.

Ganguly succeeds in conveying how the protagonist feels through a series of sequences with care to minor details like the way crowds stare at them, children giggle and how objects of daily life as chairs pose challenges to them.

With films like Chotoder Chobi, the filmmaker, and also the audience, need to be prepared for the natural disconnect with the protagonists because the film shows you life from a perspective that you can’t see on your own. Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi is commendable but I also feel that his latest remains a smaller effort in comparison to his earlier work shown here in Dubai like Shabdo.

What Is Freedom ?

Recently, I was asked to participate in a campaign that encourages a greater degree of freedom within a woman. And that got me thinking about what freedom actually means to me. Here are some thoughts… raw and beautiful.

Freedom to me is…

-       having the voice to say no to sex, even to a partner

-       being able to buy a motorbike and ride it across the country

-       being able to wear t-shirts and jeans, and walk down the street without fear of being touched or spoken to inappropriately

-       being able to go to a public park in the middle of the day, lie on the grass and day-dream

-       driving out to eat ice cream in the middle of the night

-       living alone and having my privacy respected

-       having the opportunity to gamble with my career, because hey, unless I take a few risks I’ll never know what I’m capable of

-       having a whole bunch of great friends with whom I can talk about anything under the sun

-       sitting with a cup of chai at 8am in a sunny living room and having nothing to worry about

-       going to a club to dance, dancing my heart away and returning home safe

-       being able to explore religion and spirituality on my own terms and in my own time. These are very personal things and needn’t be handed down as a compulsion

-       being able to go on a long train-trip, reading books all the way and soaking in the country side, and not being commented on or looked at shadily

-       the joy of making the choices I intuitively want to make, that I may not know much about but feel good about making those choices anyway

-       being able to marry the man I choose, even if he is differently abled and of another religion

-       being able to flirt with a charming man without worrying about the repercussions of doing so in a public space

-       being able to make informed choices when it comes to food, and being aware of the chances I take with unhealthy food

-       wearing the colours I want to wear and not being told to tame it down

-       wearing the jewelry I want to wear, and not having to choose between gold and diamonds

-       being able to switch off my phone and disconnect from the whole world for at least one week in a year

-       walking into a lift and being able to smile at someone else there

-       holding hands with a loved one, and walking down the street

-       being able to work, explore my abilities, build a business or help grow one

-       being able to wear my hair the way I want to

-       being able to sleep on a roof top, soaking in the stars and the moon

-       being able to sit on a hill top, alone, watching the clouds stream past and around, listening to the sounds of the breeze

-       being able to wear make up, and in the colours I choose to wear them

-       being able to get a divorce, a way out of an unhappy marriage and finding my footing again

And I think the list could go on. What does freedom mean to you?