Private Project

Shirasta - Prof. Ramkumar Sawant and Senior Citizens

Synopsis –
The film is a documentary which portrays the life and works of Prof. Ramkumar Sawant . he is an activist who fights for the rights of senior citizens through organisation called FESCOM situated at suburb Mumbai. His area of work based in Kolhapur and nearby districts of Maharashtra state.
Film starts with the anecdote of his early life at his native village. Covering the visuals and opinions regarding his father’s social work and his influence on the villagers. Protagonist narrates how his father’s personality influenced him to be a teacher and fight for the cause of oppressed people. This chunk of the film highlights the social life of pre- independent rural India. Further the film focuses on Ideological , Political and Professional life of the protagonist . How he came into contact with the movement started for the rights of senior citizen.
Later portion of the film covers the on field work of the organization. In that by using interviews and visuals film try to analyse the underground realities, necessity of the movement , administrative intervention and its impact regarding senior citizen rights. The final chunk of the film is about personal gain and loss of the protagonist while working as an full time activist.

  • Somadatta Suresh Desai
    Director
  • Somadatta Suresh Desai
    Writer
  • Somadatta Suresh Desai
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Student
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    108 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Marathi, Marathi, Marathi
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Shivaji University, Kolhapur
Director Biography - Somadatta Suresh Desai

My name is Somadatta Desai. I am the resident of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra. Right now i am pursuing my masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. I did my bachelors in B.A. journalism from NIMS University , Jaipur. After discovering my interest in Media and Visual storytelling i switched to media studies from Biotechnology in 2014. From that day onwards I assisted my seniors in their academic film projects , made my own short films and documentaries utilizing available resources and penned down write ups for advertisements. Apart from this i performed twice as a poet at Pune based literature show known as “Daad”.

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Director Statement

During school days i was involved more into the cultural activities. After writing and directing one sit com play in 9th class i got inclined towards the performing art and eventually cinema. But following the tradition of my rural locality I enrolled to study the science. During my studies at Pune i switched my course to mass media from science.
This field was totally unknown for me. During initial days I had to struggle just to learn English. My photography teacher Mr. Sandeep Dongare was the reason I started thinking critically about filmmaking. After his departure only library and free film screening at NFAI became my source to learn more about cinema. After assisting my seniors i learnt few basics. In 2017 i made my first short film which was rejected due to technical inadequacy. But i continued making films with available budget and resources. Finally this year my documentary got nominated in competitive category at ‘’ Swatantrata ka vigyan filmostav”. Also i got selected as one of "75 Creative minds of tommorow" felicitated at the IFFI 52, 2021. I look forward to embark towards my dream of becoming filmmaker through this initiative.