Toronto,: The first look of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi-backed film“Jhalki: Tale of a Tireless Sparrow”, based on the backdrop of bonded child labour, trafficking and lost childhood, was launched at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday.
A private gathering saw film enthusiasts, distributors and festival consultants get a sneak preview of the first look of the film, comprising of a special promo and poster created for the occasion in the presence of the film’s makers. The movie marks Brahmanand Singh’s debut.
“Jhalki” engages a folk story with the real brutal world.
Starring Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri, Divya Dutta, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Govind Namdeo and a few other key players, with a special appearance by Satyarthi, the film is produced by Mobius Films and OMG, with Aanand Chavan.
Vinayak Gawande and Jayesh Parekh are the co-producers and Tanvi Jain is the co-director.
‘Jhalki: A Different Childhood’, based against the rural, trafficking and child slavery backdrop of India, tells tale of the lost child that affects over 200 million children worldwide and 6 million in India itself. Through a popular rural folk story, it tells the story of a nine year old girl’s search for her brother who is caught against the insidious backdrop of bonded child slaves.
The film, a heartwarming story with a popular folk song at its base, rivetingly explores a real, hard-hitting milieu, tucking in its center a highly moving brother-sister story. Jhalki is a powerful story of love, courage and hope and has been made with purity, which can be seen in Jhalki’s emotions and determination to win. The story has been inspired a lot by the exemplary work that Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been doing as a Child Rights Activist.
Who is Jhalki? And what makes her such a powerful force? This seems to be the buzz question on the minds of everyone who gets to know even a little bit about her. Jhalki is a compelling film and is now ready to set off doing the International and National film festival circuit and other strategic plans. It releases in India in February 2019.
Brahmanand S. Siingh is a filmmaker known for his award-winning films that include feature documentaries on RD Burman (IMDb rating 8.8/10) and Jagjit Siingh (IMDb 9.4/10) under his banner, Mobius Films.
He is now making his feature debut with Jhalki, which tells the story of a brave young girl who sets out in search for her brother (changing stereotypical gender equation?).
What started off as a storyline developed with Prakash Jha into 16 drafts of screenplay, drawing appreciation from many script development platforms across the world.
According to Noble Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, “Jhalki’s story is a living reality for millions of children across the globe. Jhalki is a reflection of optimism, hope and resilience, which are much needed today. I have been supportive of Brahmanand Ji on his struggle to make this film for a long time. When he finally made it and recently screened it for my colleagues, I was very moved and inspired by the little girl’s courage and the way she fearlessly navigates the real world in search of her brother.”
According to Brahmanand Siingh, “At the outset, I must emphatically clarify that it is not a biopic on Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, the way it has been reported at a few places while the film was in the making. Jhalki is a powerful story of love, courage and hope and we have tried to make it with that purity, which can be seen in Jhalki’s emotions and determination to win.
“So while the story is the heart and soul, we also ensured we had the wonderful actors and technicians to make this a powerful film.
“I am grateful to Kailash ji for his extensive and unwavering support through the film’s ups and downs while it has been in the making. As has been my producing partners like Aanand Chavan, Jayesh Parekh, Vinayak Gawande, the wonderful actors and technicians, music composer Sandesh Shandilya and co-director Tanvi Jain, who put in their faith in the film and helped me to make it. And indications from just a few trial shows so far, appear that audiences are resonating with the story, subject and the film,” he added.
Future plans include making films that are real, relatable and those which make a difference to countless lives, at the same time thoroughly entertaining and engaging. “Which is why,” says Siingh, “they don’t have to be treated like a niche film as opposed to the perception attached to such films.”
