Y.Sunita Chowdhary
Director Sunil Kumar Reddy had always been on the forefront highlighting social issues in his movies. It was Gangaputrulu, Sontha Vooru earlier, now it is Valasa which is made on the migrant labourers who were put to untold hardship during the lockdown. Before Corona cases started spiking, the migrant labourers were placed in a piquant situation, they were not given enough time to go back to their villages. The transport came to a halt, the employers gave up on them and they didn’t know what to do and felt thoroughly betrayed. Valasa is in the post production now and is waiting for a theatrical release. Director Sunil Kumar Reddy in a chat with Klapboardpost.com, says the film is not at all pessimistic, it celebrates life while showing what had happened to the people that one day when lock down was announced.
“When the lockdown was announced, the migrant labourers were left on the road. Crores of people have been orphaned and India was seeing the exodus after 74 years. I researched and discussed the issue in greater detail as to why they had to walk for 15 days with pregnant women and children for 800 kilometres. We questioned the desperation and most of them felt they have been betrayed by urban society. The employers belong to the unorganised sector and no one takes responsibility for that. The people felt that if it was such a big issue, they should have been informed. They didn’t have any facilities, they couldn’t go out and couldn’t stay in that place too. The real estate men were understanding for a month and a half but after that they gave up. The uncertainty did them in. The employers in the construction site were paying and hiring services day to day and couldn’t afford later on. The labourers are clueless because they keep working for different people, not just one employer. There was no basic statistics about how many people were seeking people. Right now, reverse migration is happening.”
The director says as humans we all have short memories, maybe after two years we shall forget Corona but we need to deal with the recession. He is happy and surprised that the civil society has reacted well. He blames the government and states that it should have given time to get the transport, crossing borders was a problem and they weren’t treated as humans. The police were beating them and no one had a clue as to what was happening. At one time there was a daily spurt of 60 thousand Covid cases, it went out of their hands. The problem is with statistics. No state has a number or account of people who were coming in. There is also no account of illegal migrants and they didn’t know where to claim their ration. Lot of damage was done and in this scenario, the director says he is presenting a slice of their journey. “There will be hope and celebration of life. It is not a pessimistic look we are taking, there are case studies but we picked only interesting ones that genuinely portray pain. The migrants don’t save and spend the money they earn on the same day, so that is just a small example we shall be showing. It is a road film that shows human drama. I wanted to talk of the States’ failure. It is not a decision that had to be taken overnight, the government definitely had a noble intention but that misfired. All aspects have culminated, and what we saw in them was a sense of betrayal. 
I just wanted to show the audience, give an experience to the audience to walk along with them. I want them to take the pain that the migrants have been carrying. I am also surprised that there has been no civil anarchy.” He does say that there is a character like Sonu Sood who seems to be like an introduction of God. Whenever there is a crisis like this, there is humanity that comes to the rescue. Imagine if there is no one to help, the person will become a thief or a rebel or an outlaw. The reason for the nation is alive is due to the integrity of people and not the governance. Amidst this suffering, we can find life. People irrespective of their social status are buying dry fruits, investing on food to build their immunity levels. They have realised that no matter how much you earn, it is the family that you fall back at the end of the day that matters. Sunil Kumar Reddy further says, “The nature has forced them to think in that direction. People are spending on food. Fruit sellers say business is thriving. The people have realised that only good health can save us. It will help us in fighting diseases. There is no guarantee that we shall find a hospital bed with the money so it is important we invest in health.” It is a one day story. Manoj Nandan and others whom I have worked with before are the cast and some are new. This is the Indian side of the story of Covid-19.”
