Varadraj Swami, the write man!
Dashrath Manjhi, a poor labourer from Gehlaur village near Gaya, Bihar carved a 360 ft x 30 ft x 25 ft path deep through a hillock using only a hammer and a chisel for 22 long years only to shorten the travel between Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya from 55km to 15km. No easy feat, but to chronicle his life into a film is as difficult. For though death brought glory to Manjhi labelling him the Mountain Man with The Bihar government proposing his name for Padmashree and the Films Division producing a documentary The Man Who Moved The Mountain, his life was scattered among the stories told and untold in the village where he spent 22 years striving to carve a path through a stubborn moment. Hence, the real tribute was in August 2015 when writers-researchers Varadraj Swami and Shahzad Ahmad paved the way for Ketan Mehta-directed Manjhi: The Mountain man, a feature film starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Manjhi and Radhika Apte as Falguni Devi. Excerpts from an interview with Varad...
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