Bidita Bag salutes coronawarriors in Pandemic video

Bidita Bag presents the tumultuous experience of life in a pandemic through a video on YouTube and Instagram (Photo: Bidita Bag)

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz fame actress Bidita Bag presents the tumultuous experience of life in a pandemic through a video on YouTube and Instagram. Working on fashion photographer Somsubhro Sarkaar’s concept of mime art and photography, Bag paid tribute to the nation’s Coronawarriors at the forefront in fighting the pandemic.

Lockdowns imposed in order to curb coronavirus spread have caused restlessness among people across the world. In India, the situation has been exacerbated due to uncertain and often knee-jerk moves by governments, easing lockdowns one day and imposing curfew the next. With the contagion still nowhere near peaking, the game of lock-unlock could yet go on for weeks.

The lockdown has also seen many ordinary people and a few celebrities put out posts, mainly videos, on their social media handles to portray various aspects of the lockdown including their own lives and how they were dealing with it.

Bollywood actress Bidita Bag took to her Instagram account to share a video named Pandemic. Fashion photographer Somsubhro Sarkaar conceptualized and shot the video while Anshul R Gupta, popular film editor, and sound engineer Shaikh Mehboob, created and executed the project along with Sarkaar. Pandemic also includes poetry by actress Rachita Chauhan to go along with the theme and message of the video.

Somsubhro Sarkaar says that the immense physical, psychological, social and virtual changes, struggles faced by human beings gave him the idea of making Pandemic (Photo: Bidita Bag)

“A Pandemic. A Lockdown. Life upturned. Humanitarian crisis. A feeling of being caged. Switch from physical to virtual. Uncertainties all around. The collapse of the expected. Yet, from the ashes rise a breed of heroes. The resilience of the human persists, defying all odds,” wrote Bag while releasing the video on her Instagram account.

“The immense physical, psychological, social and virtual changes, struggles faced by human beings gave me the idea. Further discussions on the thoughts with multidimensional actor Bidita Bag gave it a structure,” said Sarkaar at the time of the release of the video.

The producers say that in the video, the poetry by Chauhan showcased collective Indian psyche, obstacles faced by people and unsurpassable courage. “We are living in a wartime situation. A war against COVID. Unpredictability looms large. We stand face to face with our mortality. However, we are also witnessing stories of unsurpassable courage and dedication to duty. Humanity today stands in unison,” says Chauhan.

In an interview with Media India Group, Bag, the highlight of the Pandemic video, speaks of the concept and idea of behind the video. She also talks of her recently released web series Abhay 2, amid Covid19.

Bidita Bag says that any work of art is a process of catharsis (Photo: Bidita Bag)

Pandemic is a unique concept, including photography, mime art, poetry and theatre. What was the purpose behind using this assimilation of various art forms?

We released the Pandemic on Independence Day and have received a lot of appreciation. This was Somsubhro Sarkaar’s idea. We have collaborated earlier on many occasions. This time when he shared this idea with me, I instantly agreed to work on this project. Earlier we thought of sharing it in the form of pictures. Later when we saw final pictures, we decided to share it as a video. Rachita, a great poet, wrote poetry and recited it as well for the video. The purpose was to show the struggle. The struggle faced by all of us including old citizens, patients, pregnant women and many more. It is not easy for anybody and that’s why I wanted to pay my humble tribute to each of them.

How is mime art and theatre contributing to bringing relief and solace for people who are suffering mentally?

Any work of art is a process of catharsis. Mime art and theatre are no different. These art forms help people relieve their inner feelings and make them feel lighter. The process of catharsis takes place while enjoying. The video also aims to inspire and gives a message of being ‘Aatmanirbhar’.

In the digital age, how do you think cinema and theatre will help people find a purpose for their lives in this situation?

Pandemic portrays the struggle faced by all including senior citizens, patients, pregnant women (Photo: Bidita Bag)

Any form of art takes your inner feelings out. When people see movies and dramas in theatre, it helps them to release an undiscovered self within them thus emptying the mind’s dark chamber which otherwise would have bitter consequences.

Your web series Abhay 2 has just been released. How has the experience of shooting changed during the pandemic? What has become different?

We had a smaller crew throughout the duration of the shoot. Things have changed due to coronavirus pandemic. We are following all safety measurements while we travel to different locations and shoot. The whole process includes fewer extravaganzas. But you still have to deliver the best. Earlier we would go an extra mile and take risks in order to stay true to the script but these days we give utmost priority to safety. And more than anything else, I am thankful to my director and production crew for making it easy for us during this time.