Agony of migrants identity loss captured in indie film

New Delhi: A young filmmaker has put the spotlight on the identity loss migrants suffer in big cities in his film `Naya Pata`.

The film made on a "less than shoestring budget" through "crowd-funding" captures the agony of being uprooted from one`s native land in search of work and the ensuing pains of "reconciling with losing one identity unwillingly and assuming another reluctantly". Made with a budget of Rs 8.5 lakh, the film has been directed by Pawan K Shrivastava who hails from Chhapra district in north Bihar. Srivastava said he wanted to make the story for years. It is set against the backdrop of closure of sugar industry in the state during 1985-1990. "The migration of people out of Bihar has always troubled me. But, that aspect has been highlighted in news media, documentaries and few films already. But, what I wanted to show to people was the severe agony of identity loss these migrants suffer in big urban cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata," Shrivastava told reporters. The 29-year-old director says he was inspired to crowd-fund his movie from filmmaker Onir`s "I Am". Also, the director did not want to "let go of the creative control from his hand". "I finished my script by the beginning of 2012 and approached a few producers but all rejected it saying "it lacked plot and masala and item-numbers." "But, I never compromised on my script. I used social media and emails to reach out to people and funds started coming in, from Bihar, outside the state and abroad too," he said.