Opinion: Nandita Das’s ‘Zwigato’ is luminous in its humanism

It is rare to emerge from a darkened cinema theatre with a sense of having shared in a work of art that spoke so abundantly to your mind, heart and soul. To have watched a film fierce in its politics, acute in its social commentary, and luminous in its humanism.

I speak of Nandita Das’s film Zwigato, that opened recently in theatres around the country. I watched it through much of its length with moist eyes, and with a constant piercing of my heart.

The first strength of this film lies precisely in this, in its profound compassion. There is aching tenderness in its careful observation of the quiet struggles, the dignity, the resolve, the hurt and the determined love of the two central characters.

Manas Mahto loses his job as a factory floor manager during the lockdown and in desperation becomes a food delivery boy. He chases orders and deadlines through the highways and bylanes of Bhubaneshwar each long working day, to provide for his family – his critically ailing mother, his devoted wife Pratima and his two growing children. Pratima has held the family together, but steps out warily now also to share her husband’s burdens, to earn as a masseuse to rich women in high-rise...

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