That's all I knew about this movie before watching it.
Based on the above information, I would naturally guess what the purpose of this western photographer entering Sonagachi, India's largest red light district, is to seek curiosity. Don't deny it, you and I know it well. But Zana is indeed different from most outsiders who just leave after filming. She stayed and tried to use her expertise (photography) to bring a little change and happiness to the lives of children in the red light district.
Zana's original intention was probably to photograph all beings in the red light district, but people there were very wary of an intruder like her. So she saved the country by saving the country, turned to what he thought, and had to say that she came up with a win-win idea: she organized a small class, taught the children to take pictures, and let these children who were born and raised in this country shoot what she wanted to shoot but couldn't. The red light district, while filming the group of children, made them the protagonists of this documentary. For Zana, it's a great way to get the whole picture of the red light district, plus she gets an unexpected perspective by focusing on this group of kids; it's a rare expression for kids.
After the film was released and caused a sensation, someone asked the children who were the subjects of the documentary at the time and found that they did not know the filming of the documentary, but they did not complain about it - because the film gave them a chance to speak. Compared with the countless lives that are quietly born and annihilated every day in the red light district, their voices are recorded and known, which is almost unthinkable by others. So I don't think it's necessary to be pretentious when it comes to knowing or not.
What this documentary documents is actually quite simple: Zana wants to help children get into boarding school, get an education, and ultimately stay out of the red light district. She wrestled with the Indian bureaucracy in order to get good schools to accept these children of complex backgrounds, and she used the children's work to open a photography exhibition in Oxford Bookstore to gain attention and funding. The end is an introduction to the children's later education. Since the so-called "later" actually refers to before the film clip was broadcast, rather than a few years or even ten years later, the ending seems a bit arbitrary and hasty. We see that, despite all the efforts documented in the film, some children still forgo educational opportunities for family or other reasons.
There is no beauty in the world that can last forever. But through the images, the beauty of a group of teenage children is perpetuated.
Kochi (囡囡), quiet bright eyes, watching Sonagachi's tumultuous chaos. Her father had tried to sell her, and her mother was too fragile to support her, so she lived with her grandmother. The embarrassment of her family forced her to mature early. "The men who come into this building are bad," she said. She knew very well the fate that awaited her. "People on the street are very poisonous. Sometimes when I see me, I will say, 'When are you going to enter the industry?' 'It's too soon?' I'm afraid to be them." She said this, but she showed a visible look to the camera. Courageous and determined expression. "I always thought if I could get out of here and go to school, it might be different." Fortunately, her grandmother felt the same way.
Puja (Jing Jing), she is already the happiest one among the girls. Although her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are all prostitutes, but (perhaps because of this), her family's life is relatively rich, she does not need to work odd jobs to ensure food and clothing, and the dresses are the most colorful. The corners of her mouth are always raised high, confident, bold, outgoing, and lively, like a little princess among the girls. On the bus Zana took them to the beach, she would take the lead in singing "Akai Coolie Monkey Run" and dance tirelessly.
Suchitra (Wonderful Painting), does not speak much, even if he does not speak loudly. Her mother had died and her aunt wanted to send her to Mumbai Station. The oppression of her family made her introverted, submissive, and indifferent to the world. Others asked her, "Do you have any idea?" She just replied, "No."
Tapasi (Xiu Xing), another child who had to be at home early. Compared to Kochi, she is more quiet and sensible. Maybe life has hardened her, maybe she's really defining her life by her own name (ascetic woman), and that's why she says, "I don't care (they scold me). If you want to study hard, you have to endure hardship....I never thought about being rich, and being poor can be happy. There are always pains and sorrows in life, and I have to accept it....My mother always scolds me, but I don't care, because my mother It's my mother. I know what she does for a living, and it makes me sad to think about it. When I grow up, my mother will get old, and if she is gone, I will take care of my little sister."
Shanti (Ningning) and Manik ( Ruby), siblings. Sister Shanti has an easy-going and talkative temperament, and is sometimes bullied by her younger brother, but she doesn't care too much. Brother Manik has some boyish stubbornness, but that stubbornness is not excessive. Shanti and Manik would always run upstairs to fly kites while Mom was picking up customers downstairs. Although Dad prefers Manik, Mom is more worried about Shanti's future. She hopes Shanti can walk out of the red light district.
Gour (Xiao Bai), I can't describe how I like this little boy. He's like a knight, a gentleman, who can always say something that shocks me. On a trip to the zoo, he said: "It's too bad that these animals are kept in cages, they only eat one meal a day, and tourists are feeding them in plastic bags." Speaking of life in the slums of the city, he said: " It's a messy day here. The country people live in earthen huts, but they're happy and not as dirty as we are here. Dirty dishes and shoes are everywhere here, not anywhere else." Speaking of Puja, he said: " I want to take her away and get out of here. Otherwise, she will end up on the street, taking drugs and stealing money."
Avijit (ie wins), the genius among these children. He has an undeniable artistic talent, not only in photography, but also painting, and he has a strong desire to express. He has gained a lot of recognition through painting, which gives him confidence. His mother has separated from his stepfather and does not live with them. The stepfather used to be very good and was Avijit's idol, but after the separation, he began to lose his temper and became addicted to chilum. Before long, Avijit's mother died in a "kitchen murder." All this has created Avijit's contradictory character. He hates the life in the red light district, but he feels that it is like a fatal black hole. Since he has been sucked in, it is futile to resist. "I used to want to be a doctor, and now I want to be an artist. ... There is no so-called 'hope' for my future," he said.
At the end of the film, Avijit goes to a better school; Manik's father doesn't let him go to school with Avijit; Puja goes to boarding school, but is taken home by his mother shortly after; Shanti leaves boarding school voluntarily and goes home ; Gour didn't go to school; Tapasi fled and went to a girls' school; Suchitra was kept by his aunt and couldn't leave the red light district; Kochi stayed at a boarding school.
After more than ten years, I searched the current situation of these children.
Avijit went to New York to study photography, and at the age of 15, was preparing to make a debut film as an associate director. "I'm having a good time, I'm happy," he said.
Kochi, sponsored by Zana, also went to school in the United States.
Suchitra eventually escaped from the red light district, freely fell in love, married a classmate, and worked in an NGO. "I miss my loved ones there (in the red light district), but not the life there," she said.
Manik and his sister Shanti left the red light district and lived elsewhere, only occasionally returning to Sonagachi to visit their parents. In 2009, Manik also wanted to take photography as a career like Avijit; Shanti was still in school and wanted to study hotel management. "If Aunt Zana and Uncle Ross hadn't supported us, we wouldn't have been able to go. I could have been drawn into violence, alcohol and drugs," Manik said.
Gour's family moved out of the red light district. In 2009, he was working as a part-time worker, earning 2,200 rupees a month. "The filmmakers wanted me to go to America, but I couldn't leave my family behind. I didn't connect with them. Those three years of photography (with Zana) were meaningless," he said.
Tapasi lost contact, but is said to be dancing in the Bihar countryside.
Still in Sonagachi, Puja became a (high-class) prostitute, earning 1,600 rupees for an hour of dancing. She went to high school and had the opportunity to stay in the United States to study, but she chose to drop out. She has now changed her name to Priti Gupta. "Zana gave my mom a lot of money to let me go, but she wouldn't let me go. I'm a girl and the only child in the family. So, that's what I am now. … I now have an apartment and a laptop. , have expensive cell phones, and a lot of spare money. What am I missing? I emailed Aunt Zana, and I started my mother's old business, which made her sad. But this business really doesn't work for me Thin," she said.
Although the film was accused of "deliberately ignoring the positive role of local social work groups in Kolkata", "overly focusing on the negative image of the children's parents" and "distorting the translator's intention during filming", its meaning will not be based on these subjective or objective accusation and cut. In Avijit’s words: “[Born in a Prostitute] made our lives better, and for good reason. I didn’t have a voice in the past, and even if I wanted to be an artist, there was no way out. The film Gave me a voice, gave me a new lease of life. "
I expected to see the rotten and helpless lives of the bottom Indians - the film is indeed full of such brutal scenes of confronting reality; I expected to see white photographers playing" "Savior" character - she did lend a helping hand; I expected to see the children coming out of the mud and unstained - their vitality was indeed tenacious; I expected to see a way out - I didn't.
Although the method given by Zana is "education changes destiny", this is only for individuals. The red light district will never disappear. It is like a pit that will never be filled. A few people climb out and a few people fall in. Children have grandchildren, grandchildren have children, children have grandchildren, and there is no shortage.
The film's ending song is a cheerful song, with repeated lyrics calling out to Krishna as a child: "Gopala, Gopala, Devakinandan Gopala." The child's simple and innocent singing, echoing Naipaul's illusory and hopeless delusions of "remaking the people", and the words "relieving all suffering" in "The Heart Sutra", slowly walked out of the theater, feeling extremely sad, but Can't shed tears.
Ending credits
The Unethical Trade Prevention Act promulgated in 1956 is the main statute dealing with sex work in India. The Act does not criminalize sex trafficking, but conducts such as organizing sex trafficking and opening sex trafficking venues are considered illegal.
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