After having read many news articles about the rampant illegal sand mining happening all across India, Vikram Aggarwal, along with Hyderabad-based entrepreneur, Mayur Dharod went ahead to shoot a tale about the same in a village called Solnapur near Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The choice for the spot was appropriate, since Solnapur is considered to be the hub of illegal river sand mining in the country. Filmed with a minimal crew, their film, ‘Valu’ is inspired by real events and is the story of a farmer who decides to expose the mafia that is destroying their river. When he discovers that his bore-well has dried up, the farmer approaches the district collector for help but his complaint falls on deaf ears. What happens when he decides to take matters in his own hands forms the rest of the story.
“Farmers in India are often portrayed as submissive and suicidal. I think they are brave. All they need is a little support. I wished to tell this story to convey the reality of their situation,” says Vikram.
He recounts an incident when they had an encounter with the actual sand mafia while scouting for locations.
“As part of my preparation, I was clicking pictures of a possible location near a river-bank, when a man wearing a Gandhi cap walked up to me and asked me if I was a journalist or from the police,” says Vikram.
On being reassured that he was a film director and was there on a recce, the man began narrating a recent incident when a man was struck by a bullet out of nowhere. Having said that, the man warned him to be careful and advised him to head back to where he had come from. Such is the danger involved in dealing with the sand mafia in that region!
Valu has been directed by Vikram Aggarwal and produced by Mayur Dharod. It has been officially selected at the ‘Oscar Qualifying’ Austin Film Festival (2019), got the People’s Choice Best Film award at the Athens Marathon International Film Festival (2020), was the Finalist for Best Film at Human-Environment Care Film Festival (Canada) 2020, and has been officially selected at the Festival Amnesty International Au Cinéma pour les Droits Humains, 2021.
Check out the trailer here.
If you enjoyed reading this article, we suggest you also read: