See the world through Bilal's eyes

KOLKATA: While Slumdog Millionaire cornered the limelight after bagging seven Oscars, Bilal a profoundly moving, award-winning documentary by a Kolkata-based director on a three-year-old slum boy with totally blind parents will finally see the light of the day in Kolkata at Max Mueller Bhavan on Tuesday.
The 88-minute film portrays the life of Bilal, a clever, mischievous child who must grow up fast in order to help his blind parents navigate, and even survive, the slums of Kolkata.
Filmmaker Sourav Sarangi spent a year living with the family in their home a 8?10 ft partitioned and dimly-lit room in central Kolkata. This cramped space brings comfort, even joy, to Bilal's parents and his aging grandmother.
Almost nothing is visible inside. But for Bilal's blind parents, light or darkness makes no difference. Bilal and his infant brother can see though. They seem to live a dual life of seeing and not seeing. Bilal has mastered the art of communicating with his parents through sounds and touch. Be it guiding his blind parents through traffic or making mischief with his brother, the child keeps busy all day long.
Bilal's upbringing and care seems to have become a collective responsibility of all his neighbours. The film observes the little boy for over a year and captures rare moments of sharing love, fun, cruelty and hope; the wonder world of Bilal.
The director met Bilal in a hospital bed through his wife. He was then just eight months and had suffered severe brain damage after a fall. "I stood in silence as I looked at the infant struggling for life. His blind mother held him tight. Here was a child living in two worlds one like you and I share where we are blessed with eyesight, and another that is pitch dark. It is this conflict that triggered the film," recalled Sarangi.
Sarangi said telling the story held several challenges. The first challenge was to tell it without preconceived ideas. Second, was to evolve a film structure with apparently disjointed, rather mundane moments that happen in everyday life.
Bilal received the Golden Award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival, Silver Palm at Mexico International Film Festival, Silver Ace at Las Vegas International Film Festival and best documentary at several festivals including DOK.FEST in Munich and ZIFF in Zanzibar.
"I am glad the film is finally being screened in Kolkata. I have received great response at the screenings abroad. But lack of distribution network and indifference to alternative, especially non-fiction films is a huge hurdle at home. Screening this film can help Bilal and many such unsung champions of life. It's a long process and not a question of instant charity," Sarangi added.