Filmmaker turns lens on Ganga pollution

KOLKATA: While the immersion crowd is busy with the last-minute rituals at the city ghats, film maker Raja Sen has turned the lens on the changing face of the ghats during the immersion.
Known for documentaries on Sambhu Mitra, Suchitra Mitra, Tapan Sinha and Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Sen's latest documentary is aimed at creating awareness on river pollution. It will be titled 'Ganga Bachao'.
Winner of the national award for the film Damu, Sen will be making this 15-minute documentary, sponsored by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), to showcase how the river's sacred water is polluted during immersion. The by men and new efforts to reduce pollutants.
Sen will mostly focus on Babu Ghat, Princep Ghat and Nimtolla Ghat, but also capture on lens other ghats in the city. The documentary will also focus on the swanky riverfront, which was recently thrown open to the public. have shots of recently-beautified riverfront.
"Immersion leads to pollution. Now, efforts are on to crane out the idols, so that the river remains safe," said Sen. He hoped that the documentary would encourage the younger generation to keep the river safe and clean. The documentary will also have interviews of some community puja organizers, who will be giving their takes on pollution during immersion.
Sen visited several ghats when immersion started on Wednesday and did a recce for his documentary. "The ghats are going to be much cleaner this time as the level of awareness has improved," Sen said, adding that He has already visited the ghats on Sunday and will be visiting the ghats again in a few days. According to him,
the shoot would continue till the Lakshmi Puja. the ghats once again to finalize the shoot which will be on till Lakshmi puja.
The way the idols are collected from the rivers and stacked on the riverbanks will be showcased in the documentary. "We want to make people aware about a safe river," said Sen.
His documentary will show how the ghats used to look during immersion in the earlier years. when idols were immersed in the river earlier.
"Now, there is a separate place to stack dry flowers. This has reduced pollution," he added. The way to keep the river pollution free is to create awareness.
The city ghats are witnessing lights, sound and action as cameras capture Durga puja immersions till the extended deadline on Sunday. Showcasing the changing face of the ghats during immersions on celluloid is film director Raja Sen. On Dashami, he was trying to position himself to get the right frame for his documentary.