Gaurai | Marathi Short film | Writter & Director: Manoj Naiksatam | Production: Naiksatam Arts

'GAURAI' short film
Production: Drushya Dhwani | Naiksatam Arts
Writter & Director: Manoj Naiksatam
DOP, Editor & Sound: Rahul Potdar
Art Director: Ranjit Raut | Mahendra Mandlik | Sameer Karkare
Make up Artist: Chand Shaikh
Cast:
Gauri Patil | Manasi Naiksatam | Nilesh Bhere | Prashant Rane | Sania Raut | Mrudula Raut | Kalyani Dafal

Thoughts behind ‘Gaurai’:
To express any story to the audience it has to initially appeal your own mind. The thought of Paru, the lead female character came to me in the vicinity of Dadar railway station. It is the centre of Mumbai metro city, densely populated and always with chaos of vendors. I have seen this place from my childhood days. Further, from my adulthood, I am seeing this area from my Photographer’s lens as well as through my writer’s eye.
At night, tribal women from rural Thane, a district adjoining to Mumbai metro city, comes to the wholesale flower market situated next to Dadar railway station and sell their flowers and leaves, collected by wandering throughout the jungle. These women travel nearly 50-90 kilometers, carrying the bales of 30-40 kilograms and takes rest wherever they gets the space near the wholesale flower market, which starts at dawn. Some women also carry their toddler along with them. When market starts at dawn these women have to sell off all their wares even for the loss as they have no space for storage in Mumbai, and then they start their return journey. Their 125-150 kilometers travel routine is fixed, it may be summer, winter or monsoon they have to carry out their routine for their livelihood, without any time for holiday or to celebrate the festivals, and rather festivals are the period to earn little more.
Due to my hobby of trekking and mountaineering, many times I have seen these hard working women of rural Thane collecting flowers and leaves in mountain and valley. I have affectionately enquired to them about their life and livelihood, hence my heart salutes their hardship and efficiency. Through my movie ‘Gaurai’, I have tried to show our society, the sorrow of these women that have engraved on my heart. I expect to sensitize the society the suffering of this section among us.
Manoj Naiksatam, Film Director – Gaurai.