Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; June 9, 2020)

Three years ago, filmmaker Bharatbala (known for his National Anthem videos among others) embarked on a mission, Virtual Bharat, to capture the essence of India through 1,000 short films of under 10-minutes each. However, he didn’t know he would end up shooting the country virtually, one day. When the national Coronavirus lockdown was announced on the night of March 24, his team and he decided to film the historic chapter in modern history on camera. The lockdown continued for nine weeks, and so did the filmmaker’s efforts.

Titled Uthenge Hum, the film had a pan-India team of over a 100 people, and it captures the emptiness and the silence of the lockdown across villages and cities in 14 states.

Bharatbala roped in the filmmaking crew that he had assembled in the last few years while making about 85 films for his ‘Virtual Bharat’ project across the country. He was stationed in Mumbai with his team while supervising shoots across India through virtual video calls.

Bharatbala says, “This film, which took off when the lockdown began, is for posterity. I went ahead with an idea, not knowing how it will shape up. Srinagar, Guwahati, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai — we went all over the place. We sought permission to move around. On a single day, I have shot portions in Lucknow, Varanasi and Guwahati. It’s sad to say, but this was a unique chance to capture the silence and emptiness in a nation of 1.3 billion people.”

The filmmaker adds, “This film brings out the stark social divide without me saying a word. We need to rethink and rebuild our systems. The lockdown had everyone on their knees and it proved that everything can wait.”