An Insignificant Man
Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla
- India
- 2016
- 96min
- DCP
- color
Synopsis
A non-fiction drama chronicling the most outrageous political debut in the largest democracy in the world, An
Insignificant Man follows Arvind Kejriwal and his insurgent party as they look to shake up Indian politics while
struggling to keep their own idealism alive.
Review
Even in India, the unexpected change has happened in 2012. Arvind Kejriwal, who was working as a revenue officer, stands for an election to eradicate the corruption of established politicians. He formed 'the party of ordinary people (AAP, Aam Aadmi party)' to fight back against the government corruption and put up a candidate in the election of Delhi. He doesn't mind holding a hunger strike if he could change the citizen awareness and make positive changes in India's society where the election frauds are rampant. And he also tries to protect the most basic and ordinary rights the citizens deserve, including the normalization of electric rate and water rate. The election result marks the crack in the two-party structure of the ruling party 'Congress Party' and the leading opposition ‘BJP', and Kejriwal is elected as the Chief Minister in Delh. The film depicts the process of the election of which no one can predict the result, a year before the election. An Insignificant Man ends with the scene of the election victory, but it lets us know that 'the revolution' and 'the new change' are yet to be completed through the subtitle. Even though it deals with a part of the revolution, it shows how difficult it is to start taking action for the change, and how hard it is to maintain the first willingness to change. [Park Hye-mi]
Director
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Khushboo Ranka
Right to Pray (2016)Continuum (2006) We established camaraderie with the party and its members very early, and have closely followed their journey. Our access within the party gave us an insight into the mechanisms of politics through very interesting protagonists. It also showed us the vulnerabilities of such an enterprise. Today the Aam Aadmi Party is the center of much debate. We are neither looking to make heroes out of them for being protestors nor wanting to vilify them for being politicians. Our film tells a story that resonates with universal concerns about democracy. Our attempt has been to construct a nuanced portrait of the various forces shaping democracy, the biggest of which is the voter. In the AAP story also, the voters are a major character, as they interpret the power that elections give them, often negotiating with likely candidates on the terms of casting the vote. The AAP is a vehicle to arrive at a better understanding of electoral politics. Like the Syriza in Greece or when Obamawas getting elected in the US, the AAP too are trying to navigate the tension between hope and pragmatism, between idealism and politics.
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Vinay Shukla
Bureaucracy Sonata (2011) We established camaraderie with the party and its members very early, and have closely followed their journey. Our access within the party gave us an insight into the mechanisms of politics through very interesting protagonists. It also showed us the vulnerabilities of such an enterprise. Today the Aam Aadmi Party is the center of much debate. We are neither looking to make heroes out of them for being protestors nor wanting to vilify them for being politicians. Our film tells a story that resonates with universal concerns about democracy. Our attempt has been to construct a nuanced portrait of the various forces shaping democracy, the biggest of which is the voter. In the AAP story also, the voters are a major character, as they interpret the power that elections give them, often negotiating with likely candidates on the terms of casting the vote. The AAP is a vehicle to arrive at a better understanding of electoral politics. Like the Syriza in Greece or when Obamawas getting elected in the US, the AAP too are trying to navigate the tension between hope and pragmatism, between idealism and politics.
Credit
- ProducerAnand Gandhi, Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla
- Cinematography Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla, Vinay Rohira
- Editor Abhinav Tyagi & Manan Bhat
- Music Ola Fløttum
Contribution & World Sales
Contribution & World Sales
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