A Man of Action

Surya Shankar Dash is biased.

Surya Shankar Dash is biased. He is a propagandist beating his drum and blowing his trumpet and braving the blows all along. Yes,he is an activist,driven to defend his people,his land and his rivers from the reckless onslaught of corporate giants and ignorant politicians who are displacing lives and livelihood in the name of development.

An advertising professional turned documentary filmmaker,Orissa-based Dash has made 35 long and six short documentaries and was in Chandigarh for the screening of some of his films at Lajpat Rai Bhawan,Sector 15,in association with Chandigarh Creative Cinema Film Circle. My films are peoples voices,made for them and by them, says Dash,who first realised the power of camera when he was sent to film the Bonda tribes of Orissa. A simple tribal clan,they are one of the oldest settlers in India,who carry with them a rich culture and tradition. But what I saw was an exploitation of the villagers and their women,land and environment, says Dash,who found out that this tribe was displaced six times to accommodate hydro-power projects and factories. As a result,they had no source of income and men turned to alcohol.

I had to do something concrete and consistent, says he.

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Dash gave up the world of advertising and his luxuries,and packed off to Orissa with wife Gunjan,a textile designer. It was 2004,and it was a big step for Dash and what followed was struggle,pain,depression and threats. In his films,Dash panned his camera on the common man,the adivasis of Orissa and on the structural and systematic exploitation of the states flora and fauna and its people. There were times when he was roughed up,his camera was grabbed,he was pushed around and threatened by cops,but he carried on. I still have to be careful not to be seen with a Maoist, he says,adding how its the spirit and long tradition of resistance of the people of Orissa to the so-called development projects that fuels Dashs passion.

The results are explosive,for his films have attracted attention and brought in change,especially the documentary The Real Face of Vedanta,that tackles the controversies of the London-based mining company Vedanta Alumina,that has allegedly built an illegal factory in Kalahandis Lanjigarh. Dashs documentaries turn the gaze on government,ruling parties,political nexus and corporate operations from Niyamgiri that presents the unheard voices of the tribals; to Nolia Sahi,the story of a fishing village; Dhinki,the villagers resistance towards Posco project; and atrocities by the police and workings of Tata Steel in Repression Diary and Shot Dead for Development. His biggest project,he says,is yet to come. Its on the phenomenon of displacement. I have collected 1,000 hours of footage and am working on more.

According to him,there is no clarity behind the science of development and that debate has never happened in totality. The poor always suffer in the name of development. Its like the tribal Gods have no say in a Brahmin-dominated country, he says. Unlike the rest of the country,says Dash,its Orissa where everyone is fighting for jan,jungle aur zameen. He adds,The solution to this mayhem is simple follow the Constitution,maintain the law of land and everything will fall into place.

Activisim is perhaps in his blood. He says he gets it from his mother,and this is his calling. Friends,viewers,crowd funding and a supportive wife keep his work alive and kicking. As does their newsletter Samdrusti and video magazine Madhyantar. My next project is Revolu Cinema for fiction and creative works of cinema and Video Republic on activist videos from across the country, says Dash.

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