Khushi Maheshwari and Meghna Barik, Pune
Varrun Sukkhraj, the creative mind responsible for the captivating movie “Too Much Democracy,” engaged in an insightful discussion, sharing his thoughts and ideas about the film with the students of SIMC.
Mr. Sukhraj holds the belief that the title “Too Much Democracy,” which incorporates the term democracy, represents a sentiment rather than a mere word. The filmmaker conveyed his concern about how the phrase “too much democracy” has started to provoke people. He elucidates how individuals who speak out against this are advocating the restriction of freedom of speech and expression. Mr. Sukhraj strongly emphasizes that speaking against democracy equates to speaking against one’s mother.
When asked about what identity he holds as a filmmaker, he answers, ‘ I am Shakti’s father’. The filmmaker conveys the idea that a father, through his daughter, never veers off the right path and constantly strives to bring positive change for the well-being of everyone. All his creative endeavors aim to be seen through his daughter’s perspective, ensuring they never do any harm.
Varrun Sukhraj describes how the presence of women in the protest diffused an otherwise explosive environment. He explains how things would have gotten extremely violent really fast because of the fairly aggressive demeanor of the communities involved, but they did not because women were a pacifying force. Nobody would engage in physical brawls because their families, especially the female members, were around. He said women had turned that battleground into a living room; they were the real strength behind the movement.
As the architect of the film, he also shed light on the blatant apathy of people towards social and political issues. He believes that this apathy arises from the rapidly rising materialistic and consumerist attitudes that people have toward life. He elaborates further on how people are not inherently bad or ignorant and that the spike in consumerism has made them blind to other pressing issues, and everything everywhere looks the same to them. He states that the most important question we need to ask ourselves is-
“What do we belong to?”
In the end, Varun Sukhraj advises all budding journalists and filmmakers to never curb their expression, “come what may”, he said; elucidating on what kept him afloat during the hard days, he added, lot of hatred creates some love in you….