I can’t imagine a world without water, can you? We all know the importance of water in our daily lives, there is almost nothing that we can do without water. World Water Day is a day observed to ponder on and appreciate the huge importance of water in our lives.
While the UN General Assembly is doing their bit to conserve and take clean drinking water to the remotest places around the world, it’s filmmakers like Jai Mehta who are not only helping spread awareness about the seriousness of the crisis but are also encouraging other filmmakers to adopt green filmmaking!
Jai Mehta’s 17-minute short for National Geographic’s Mission Blue Stories series, Paani Path, is an eye-opener to especially for us privileged lot who take resources like water for granted! Paani Path is a sensitive film skillfully showcases the water crisis via a story of a Mumbai housemaid (Tejaswini Kolhapure). The message is conveyed across in a subtle yet strong way, without exaggerating yet it makes us question things like humanity, disparity, the inhumane conditions that people right next to us live in and we otherwise tend to ignore.
In an exclusive conversation with HFT, Jai tells us how the film fell into his lap and how it has changed his life forever, “The film was supposed to be directed by my dad Hansal Mehta, but since he did not have the time then, he asked me if I wanted to do it. I am glad i agreed.”
He goes on to tell us how he got the story idea, “My maid who lives in one of the slums near Juhu came crying home one day and when I asked her what had happened, she said that her daughter had been sent back from school since her uniform was dirty and not washed. When I further asked her why she had not washed it she told me that they had no water in their house for 3 weeks! I was shocked to hear that she was being denied her basic rights.”
Jai then started his research, he started visiting the slums to learn more about the crisis. The whole research he says opened up his eyes, he learnt about things that he never knew existed like the Water Mafia, the rationing of water, how the water tanker owners burst water pipes and steal water and sell the same water! He also read about a young girl who had to miss school every day just so that she could fill water for her family since her mother would go to work and the same girl lost her life while carrying water back home when she came under the local train while crossing the tracks. All these made him ashamed that even when things like this was happening right under his nose, around his neighborhood, there was nothing much he could do.
That’s when he decided that he owed it to the people like his maid, who makes our day to day life comfortable by taking care of us and help us run our homes smoothly. “Some of them like my maid, have a bank account, pay taxes too then why should they be denied their basic rights?” says Jai.
He felt the need to make this film so that he could put their story across and have people think about it and do something about it. He has definitely managed to touch a chord and Tejaswini has played the part of the mother and maid brilliantly. “Tejaswini brings freshness to the film and she is extremely talented too,” says Jai.
While the film is close to his heart since it’s his debut as a filmmaker, the film has impacted and changed his life in a big way. Jai says, “I think twice before I waste water now. When I have guests coming home I use eco-friendly disposable plates and glasses.Besides that, I am also adopting green filmmaking, even while shooting this film I made sure that everyone carries their own water bottles from home and refilled their bottles from the big jar of water that was put on set, to avoid the use and throw of plastic bottles. We used reusable plates and most importantly, we used only 5 liters of water to shoot the entire film, that is about the water crisis!”
Jai next film which is a family drama will be his big feature debut and he plans to follow the green filmmaking for that film. “I want to do away with all the wasting of paper that happens on sets, maybe I will just have two copies of the script printed and ask people to share it and save it till the end of the film! Also with everyone owning smartphones now things like paper can be avoided,” says Jai.
Jai believes if he can do his bit by saving a few liters of water and if everyone follows it, then one can imagine how many liters of water can actually be saved in a day. We couldn’t agree more!
While there are films that make and cross the 100 and 300 crore mark, it’s films like these that need to be made more and encouraged! On World Water Day today, sit back and watch Paani Path right here:
Read Also: It’s World Water Day Today And Here Are Some Things We Need To Remember
