Vidhi Kasliwal is not just known for her directorial debut Isi Life Mein, but also for her uncanny ability to look at the budget as much as the creative side of projects.
The latest is that her 23-minute documentary, under her banner Landmarc Films,Block By Block – on construction labour in India, has emerged a winner yet again at the 3rd Noida International Film Festival.
Says Vidhi, “Block By Block was a very fascinating concept. The labourers were from all over the country – Bengal, Orissa, UP, Maharashtra among other states.
Each spoke in his mother tongue, lending the documentary a unique flavour. This coupled with their candid moments at work and at rest within the confines of hygienic spaces in the very building they were constructing, was endearing.”
“They were put up with all the facilities, and that was really heartening. I am of the strong belief that the intention with which the labour constructs a building carries forward to the homes that are made in that building. You can’t fake such positivity. They were all blessing the building, which was so touching,” gushes Vidhi.
Block By Block has won Best Background Music at the 4th Kolkata Short International Film Festival, Best Cinematography at the 4th Delhi Short International Film Festival, Special Jury Mention at the 3rd Indian Cine Film Festival, and the Official Selection at the 5th Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival, at the 4th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival and many more.
Adds she, “I think we were officially selected at all the festivals we applied to,which is very encouraging and gratifying. And come to think of it, I almost passed on making this film, for lack of experience and expertise in the genre, having a hardcore feature background. Thank God I did make it, for now I have yet another beautiful film under my belt.”
While the English and Hindi versions have Raj Zutshi as the narrator, the Marathi version was narrated by none other than Sachin Khedekar, who was very impressed with the sheer magnitude of the building and how majestically it adds to the Mumbai skyline.
Produced by Vidhi Kasliwal, Block By Block, written by Gautam Pemmaraju and edited and directed by Hina Saiyada, took shape over a period of only seven days!