Amaravathi sings paeans of unsung civic heroes: director

Kannada feature film Amaravathi, sends a strong message to society to accord due credit to civic labourers, the unsung heroes of the state, director B M Giriraj has said.

Interacting with reporters and public in town after the film screening, the director said he was inspired to make the movie after he learnt the issues raised by pourakarmikas during their protest in Bengaluru in 2012.

“Civic labourers are the intrinsic labour force and despite the problems they encounter, the most downtrodden strata of the society uphold humanity. “Even during their strike in Bengaluru in 2013, the civic labourers—especially women—were worried about the inconvenience caused to the public due to their agitation,” he said.

Giriraj said the film has been garnering interest from different strata of society. “People who saw the film were immensely happy. They have started regretting their behaviour towards pourakarmikas and stopped taking them for granted. People are also sharing their experiences and lauding the team’s efforts at delivering a wonderful film,” he said.

The film ends on a negative note as the director felt that the sad ending made spectators delve deeper into the issue and also look for solutions to better the cause of sanitation workers.

Giriraj has already directed two state award-winning films ‘Jatta’ and ‘Maithreyi’ in 2013. ‘Jatta’ deals with forest rights and communal harmony. His other film ‘Tunda Haikala Sahavasa’ will be released in March.

A civic worker who viewed the film said that any recommendation made to improve their lives and livelihood remains mere lip service. “There is no PF or ESI and all workers are taken on contractual basis. The film aptly narrates the saga of our life. Even the labourers who have been working for 25 years earn a monthly salary of Rs 6,500,” he said.

Hemanth Sushil, the male protagonist, said that he did his homework by going through various documentaries and also references and write-ups of journalist P Sainath. He was hopeful that the film would bring some change in the lives of civic labourers. Bank manager Venkatesh Kamath, however, felt that the film could have had a happy ending as it would have raised hopes of the fraternity.