Vishwamitri Villas, 2022
‘Vishwamitri Villas’ is an improvised long short film, about a day in the lives of domestic help, an unseen & voiceless segment of society in India, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Research1 data shows that in India, many domestic help lost their livelihoods & couldn’t support their families during the lockdown. Others struggled physically, emotionally & mentally with the daily grind of work on meagre salaries, while being exposed to the Covid-19 virus at work & at home. On the flip side, during lockdown, many families were left stranded without their domestic help & struggled with housework on their own.
As this film was shot entirely on Zoom at multiple locations in India & UK, it developed into an intricate communication exercise. The Director, Kristine Landon-Smith & an Assistant Director were in London, the other Assistant Director in New Delhi, the 16 actors in Vadodara; while the interpreters & collaborators were in Vadodara & Austin. The Director could only speak English & very little Hindi, while the deaf actors could Sign & understand only Gujarati & the other actors didn’t know Sign. The support team of assistant directors, interpreters & collaborators made communication possible across the board, which has translated into this multi-lingual film.
1. “Impact of Covid-19 on Informal Sector- A Study of Domestic Workers in India”;
B.S. Sumalatha, Lekha D. Bhatt, K.P. Chitra; The Indian Economic Journal; June 25 2021
Synopsis
During the global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘Vishwamitri Villas’ is an experimental short film, shot entirely on Zoom at multiple locations in India & UK. This black & white film is completely improvised & unscripted, with a cast of 16 young actors between 12 & 17 years of age, some of whom are deaf. The film fuses four languages – English, Hindi, Gujarati & Indian Sign language, into one – the language of the soul.
A black & white film, ‘Vishwamitri Villas’ takes the viewer through one day in the lives of young domestic help, who work in different apartments of ‘Vishwamitri Villas’ in a city in India. The film explores the relationships amongst themselves, with their employers & their children. The story is gently nuanced to reveal their daily routine, shuttling between moments of normalcy & the absurd, during the lockdown. Through a series of improvisations & conversations in spoken & sign language, the film reveals the experiences & struggles of domestic help.
‘Vishwamitri Villas’ unfolds as a poetic expression, capturing comfortable silences within a multitude of languages, moments of joy amidst the gloom, & the importance & warmth of human connections during these uncertain times. ‘Vishwamitri Villas’ is a candid peek into the mundane lives of Indian domestic help, brought to life effortlessly by the cast of young actors, each unique in their own way, embodying the very essence of improvisation theatre.
The Making of Vishwamitri Villas Documentary
Vishwamitri Villas, Film
Concept & Direction
Kristine Landon-Smith
Director, educator, producer & co-founder of Tamasha Theatre Company, Kristine Landon-Smith has a
wide body of work to her credit.
Kristine says, “With the pandemic engulfing us all across the globe, we could not realise the live performance which we originally intended to create. I took up the challenge of creating an experimental film on Zoom. I did not want to disguise the fact that we were on Zoom, hence came the concept of ‘A day in the life of domestics in India at the time of Covid via Zoom’. I followed my belief that every single one of us has a creative bud in them & if given the right circumstances, one can capture & nurture the artistic spirit of an individual.”
“In order to find a believable frame where participants might legitimately be on Zoom, I felt that making a film about the day in the life of domestics coming in & out of one apartment block & speaking across Zoom to each other about their day’s activities could provide the scaffolding that was needed. So once cast, I worked with the actors, observing closely who they really were & tried to capture them as themselves & not direct them to something they were not. Through several improvisations around our story line, ‘Vishwamitri Villas’ was born. Bringing the unique personalities of each of the 16 children, the film tells the story of the young people in this building from morning to night at the time of Covid.”
Credits
Concept & Direction: Kristine Landon-Smith
Music: Felix Cross
Editor: Sabyasachi Bhattacharjee
Assistant Directors: Charlotte Everest (UK), Smruthi Krishnan (India)
Interpreters: Binny Varghese , Ekta Kumar, Geeta Parmar
Subtitles: Geeta Parmar, Neena Arora, Nisha Grover, Priya Krishnaswamy, Priyaank Gangwani, Suchitra Parikh
Script co-created by: Kristine Landon-Smith, Students of Akshar Trust (Centre for Children with deafness), & Page to Stage
Cast
Aaria, Aarna Kapur, Ajay Sharma, Ahaan Patel, Aditya Badani, Het Suthar, Janya Shah, Jash Shah Vasanwala, Krish Patel, Kushagrah Jhaver, Nazreenbano Pathan, Ose Modi, Samreenbano Pathan, Sherly Pandya, Shivani Sharma, Trishee Shah
Producers: Neena Arora, Priya Krishnaswamy, Suchitra Parikh
A collaboration between: Akshar Trust (Centre for Children with deafness), KLS & Associates, & Page to Stage
Produced by: 3 Peepul Productions LLP
Special Appearance: Rina Fatania, Sudha Bhuchar
