Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 20, 2014)

After receiving worldwide critical acclaim for his debut feature, Ship of Theseus, Anand Gandhi is producing an experimental documentary. The film is directed by one of the creative producers at Gandhi’s Recyclewala Labs, Megha Ramaswamy.

Titled Newborns, it focuses on the lives of real-life acid attack survivors from across the country. When contacted, Gandhi confirmed the news, saying, “The film features people who have been victims of such heinous crimes. However, we do not intend to recreate the tragedy, but instead focus on the celebration of hope and life.”

Newborns stars the survivors, who will be talking about everything else, but their misfortune. “So you will see them dabble in poetry, dance, painting and experiment with several other art forms,” Gandhi says, adding, “The film cannot be categorised as a docudrama as a lot of the stuff that you see has been written and acted out by the survivors themselves, including certain monologues.”

The shooting has already begun in Delhi and the film is expected to hit the theatres in the latter half of this year. 

“What inspired this documentary was the lack of support from the general public. Many just stood and watched these atrocities, without protesting or doing anything to stop them. With this film, we hope to bring about an attitudinal shift and focus on looking ahead rather than behind.”

To spread awareness about such crimes, Gandhi has also planned to launch a campaign. It will be titled Spot of Shame.