The Encounter in a Basement

Tags:: Babelgum Film Short Film Police Crime Caste Racism True Migrant India Bigotry Hindi Bangalore Intolerance Kannada

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By: Babelgum
Subscribers: 26
Updated: 01-Dec-09
Videos: 11037

English
Comments: 0
Views: 66
Added: 07-Oct-09

A young man is brought to a car park basement to be 'interrogated' by a police officer. His crime? He is a migrant laborer from north India. This film is based on actual events as narrated to the actors, on condition of anonymity, by an officer of the Bangalore City Police (crime branch). There is a growing sense of intolerance towards people from north India, particularly in mid and southern Indian cities, and this film reflects that bigotry and racism in an already morally ambiguous police force.
The film is in two languages - Kannada and Hindi. Kannada is the official language of Bangalore, where the film is set, and Hindi is the language of most people from the north.
Being an extremely low (read non-existent) budget production, the film was shot on handy cam and lit only by the headlights from a parked car.