- #HGWORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
I live by myself and work from home in my hometown. All my friends that I had here moved out like myself after high school. So when I came back during the pandemic, I had no company except for those who'd visit during the holidays. I'm not bored easily but sometimes I do fall too deep within myself; the void gets to me. I go to a place that I think every human being is familiar with: the big empty. Then my cat emerges out of his nap asking for snacks and I'm sprung right back into "Oh wait, I'm good; life is good."
Sometimes all it takes is a little companionship to feel okay. It's not as loud as the ecstasy of say, screaming out of your lungs at your favourite concert. It's a quiet contentment. And in my opinion, it's much more precious. Celestina & Lawrence in the eponymous film are the epitome of that companionship. Directed by Vikram Kumar, the film is about two young individuals from a tribal community in Jharkhand who are trapped in their own individual struggles for a better life. As destiny brings them closer, the dream of this life starts to become more tangible.
Celestina, an unmarried mother, works in Ranchi as a construction labourer on daily wages. She has filed a case against her lover who refuses to marry her in the state commission for women’s welfare seeking justice for her daughter. However, he is a man with influence who runs a human trafficking racket which he's trying to frame Celestina for to get rid of her.
Lawrence, our co-protagonist on the other hand, is stuck as a full-time night watchman after the economic crisis caused by the demonetisation ruined his dreams of becoming a builder in real estate. This also leads to an end of his relationship with the girl he was going to marry and was supporting financially.
Celestina & Lawrence is not a love story, even though the filmmaker sets us up for that destination. Their fates may be presented as leading lines that point to a romance. But what occurs is far deeper. Even as these two lives converge, they do not, as the cliche goes, become one. They're just transformed, a little, in the most poignant way that makes their struggles bearable; their futures hopeful.
Vikram tells me that the film is as independent as it gets. With a small crew and no exterior help in post-production, it was created by people who just cared about this story. The same earnest intention is reflected throughout the film. Celestina & Lawrence is set in a tribal community of Jharkhand. But, and I'm almost elated to say this, that's all it is - the setting. The community and its marginalization isn't the subject of the film. There is poverty and despair but none of it is fetishized. It invites us into the tribal life without an ounce of pitiful gaze. In fact, the filmmaker does a brilliant job in weaving the characters, the plot and the conflicts into larger-than-life experience. This is supplemented by both the dialogues, and the poetic sequences that ties into the metaphors being explored.
Celestina & Lawrence premiered at the Kolkata People's film festival earlier this year. Now it's selected at the 48th Mostra Sao Paolo International film festival where it will be featured with 14 other Indian films in the New Filmmakers Competition category. I hope it's picked up by more festivals here at home because it has most definitely earned it. The film subverts our perspective on regional and independent films that only break through the noise if they're centered around politically and socially driven themes. But this one in particular lays emphasis on the existential nature of the human condition instead, which as a theme is more cherished in European cinema than in India.
An artist, closet painter and a photographer, Vikram worked as an assistant director in the film industry in Mumbai for several years. During this time, he learnt to write scripts by watching films from around the world which also alienated him from mainstream films. He never felt a sense of belonging there. His heart sought after much affinity and familiarity with people and places, where he could delve deeper while dealing with the characters; and places he really enjoys to explore. This is when he moved back to his hometown Ranchi and shifted to regional cinema.
Vikram elaborates, "Imageries that I was seeing all around me, characters that I loved interacting within day-to-day basis, their culture, social-religious traits, their aspirations and ambitions, the unexplored milieu of a small city like Ranchi; these were definitely some of the creative temptations I fell for. Right from the beginning, I was clear that the treatment of the screenplay should follow the characters more than the issues they are dealing with. The issues need to be in the background. Individuals facing these challenges, dealing with or succumbing to them, with their own set of virtues and vices, flaws and strengths, goals and hopes, should always be in the spotlight. I have always felt that films that follow humanity, whether fiction or documentary, are more impactful. And with that belief, I want my characters to leave an impression on the audience's mind and heart.
The film can be paralleled with world cinema which has a world building quality to it - just like a fantastical realm has its own rules, so do different cultures. Language, clothes, architecture, rituals, social dynamics, beliefs and even superstitions are the bricks that form a completely unique universe that feels alien to us, which is also where its allure comes from. This balance of cultural immersion with the universal humanity of the characters in regional films might just be the greatest cinematic heritage India has. Celestina & Lawrence has been an endearing reminder of that.
Follow Vikram here.
