NEW DELHI: Filmmaker M Gani says his debut feature film “Matto Ki Saikil” (Matto’s Bicycle) is an ode to everyday people, whose struggles are often overlooked by the society.
The film features filmmaker-actor Prakash Jha as Matto, a daily wage earner whose family want to buy him a cycle for his daily travel.
The film had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday in the “Window on Asian Cinema” segment.
Gani, who hails from Mathura, said that there is a strange similarity between the film’s protagonist and the out-of-jobs labourers who were forced to leave big cities on foot during the coronavirus-forced lockdown.
“The people who went to their homes barefoot during the pandemic, they are all over around us. They work when our homes are being constructed, they are involved in the production of the items that we use in our daily lives. But we never paid attention to these people.
“It was only when we saw on the television screens that such a huge number of people were walking home barefoot, that we realised how tough their lives are,” the 45-year-old filmmaker said in an interview.
Before making a foray into feature filmmaking, Gani worked on a number of short films and documentaries. He also worked in a local theatre in UP.
The director said people like Matto are not uncommon but their stories have been mainly neglected by society. (AGENCIES)
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