
Nandita Das On Screening Zwigato At Son's School: "Innocent Minds Sometimes See And Feel More"
NDTV
The film, featuring actors Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami in the lead roles, follows the life of a food delivery agent
Actor-director Nandita Das' latest film Zwigato has received positive feedback from all quarters. The film, featuring actors Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami in the lead roles, follows the life of a food delivery agent, who is forced to take the job after losing his role as a factory's floor in-charge. Now, the director, in an Instagram post has shared that the film was screened at her son Vihaan Maskara's school on Sunday. What followed were “thoughtful questions and insightful observations,” she said in a detailed note. Sharing an image of the children glued to the screen, Nandita Das said: “Last Sunday, I showed Zwigato to my son's entire school. The conversations thereafter were filled with thoughtful questions and insightful observations. Innocent minds sometimes see and feel more than what we grown-ups allow ourselves to. They caught on to the essence of the film so instinctively - the glaring disparities that we have normalised.”
Speaking about the importance of exposing children to art, Nandita Das added: “Initially, it made me sad to reveal this stark reality to them. But then I felt it was important that they know it early on, so they grow up being empathetic and begin to think about how to make the world a better place. I believe, even tiny shifts, remind us of the role of art. It can gently challenge our prejudices, create empathy for the "other," and make us aware of less familiar worlds. But sometimes we need to train our eyes and minds on such stories. The more we see, the more we appreciate their place in the world."
Urging people to support the film that is currently running in theatres, she said, “ So go watch Zwigato, and all such films that help us become the people we want to be. Let stories of countless, nameless, faceless people not recede into the background of our collective consciousness. These two days are crucial in deciding how long the film will continue to stay in theatres. At the end of the day, it is a numbers game. But I think there are enough people who care and will go to the theatres and keep such stories alive.”
Actor Edward Sonnenblick, last seen in RRR, replied to the post saying, “We took our 10-year-old son to see it yesterday, and yes, what an important perspective it gave us all! Great discussion afterwards. Thanks for this film. It's truly important.”