1700 kelvin (2012)

At present, the people of Jangalmahal are in a real state of horror. However, given the recent changes in the political landscapes of West Bengal, this current state of fear is not happening in isolation, rather, it is intertwined with previous incidents that have taken place in Amlashol, Singur, Lalgarh and Netai. In all these cases, we have seen the dreadfulness of the ruling party and the grit of the peoples' resistance there. The bloodiness of the peoples' resistance not only shook the ignominious foundation of the ruling party of West Bengal, but also has brought changes into the urban life that we live in the modern days. It was on November 8, 2008 that I, along with some dignitaries, went to Jangalmahal. I saw the plight of my tribal co-citizens and their anger towards the injustices that they have been subjected to over all these years. Since that day, I have always felt the need to document the lives of the residents of Jangalmahal, and that, on film. It was however, the massacre at Netai (January, 2011) that broke my slumber and has made this film possible. Sixty three years have passed since independence. The people of Jangalmahal have barely seen any fruit of economic and infrastructural development that India has gone through in the last sixty years. This area, which, could have prospered boundlessly, still remains as one of the poorest areas in the entire nation. For the time being, however, the local residents of Jangalmahal chose to forget this history of deprivation, because they have more important things to worry about. It is their honor which is at stake, and they have to stand up for their own selves to defend it. It is also their forest, which is at stake, and now they have to save it. The film has not taken any pedagogical approach. It is rather a "white story" about a black-green forest and their people who live in it and on it. I dedicate this film to every murdered, evicted and molested fellow co-citizens of Jangalmahal.