We have all seen an IAS officer in movies as the ‘collector saab’ or the ‘dabang’ police officer – characters which have touched us by their fights for social change and social justice. But now we are going to see a failed IAS aspirant in the lead of a flm titled, Andaman. Here, too, the hero attempts to bring social changes, but in a different way. The story revolves around a quarantine center in an underprivileged village, managed by an unsuccessful IAS aspirant who has lost all hopes in life. The film depicts the flow of hope between the hopeless aspirant and the equally hopeless village. This inspirational social drama, directed by Smita Singh and starring Anand Raaj and Sanjay Mishra, will take you on a roller coaster ride of smiles and tears.
Indian Masterminds spoke with director Smita Singh and actor Anand Raaj to learn more about the movie and the failed IAS aspirant character.
ABOUT THE FILM
Depicting the Covid crisis in the country, especially in the rural parts, the film revolves around the main protagonist played by Anand Raaj himself, who portrays the role of an IAS aspirant who had twice reached the interview stage of the UPSC examination but could not clear it.
“The protagonist has lost all hopes from life and is on the verge of committing suicide when the character of Sanjay Mishra comes and saves him. The movie then goes on to depict how the protagonist is made in charge of a quarantine center situated in such an abandoned and neglected area that it is sarcastically referred to as ‘Andaman’, during the peak of the Covid crisis in March 2020. The village is highly underdeveloped and the story shows how he wins over the people and the negativity and finally becomes what he wants,” Ms. Smita told Indian Masterminds.
The movie depicts the village’s transformation – from dilapidated to developed; from orthodox to forward; and from negativity to positivity.
IDEA BEHIND THE STORY
Coming from a rural background, it pained Mr. Anand to see the plight of migrant workers during the first lockdown. He observed their struggle and their quarantine periods and realized that the lack of facilities brought them discomfort over anything else.
“I shared my idea of making a quarantine-centered drama film with Smita. I wanted it to be inspiring and depict how in any situation poison can be changed into medicine. An underprivileged village can be also developed and a hopeless UPSC aspirant can also become full of aspirations once again,” stated Mr. Anand.
ABOUT THE PROTAGONIST
The idea behind depicting the main protagonist in the movie as a failed UPSC aspirant is to show how hopeless life can be for some people.
In the words of Mr. Anand, “The situation of the village is very depressing. There is an air of negativity surrounding it and the place has no hope left. The Covid19 crisis is hopeless itself and is making the place even more melancholic. I wanted to bring in a person in the scene who himself has lost all hope in life, just like an aspirant who has failed. I wanted to ultimately depict that even when so much negativity comes together, still a positive result can come out of it.”
He informs further that during that process, the protagonist wins over his own negativity of failure realizing that irrespective of what we are seeing in life, our life is bigger than all the circumstances outside. When he discovers this, he is able to transform not only his life but also everybody else’s.
IMPORTANCE OF A BUREAUCRAT
Why did Mr. Anand choose a failed IAS aspirant as his protagonist? In his life, he has come across several people who have failed in their last attempt at UPSC. He noticed them struggling to find a foothold in society.
“I always thought that a person who has cleared his Pre or Mains exam is already ahead of most of the people because he has worked so hard. He can’t come to zero. When the protagonist comes to the village, I believe he has the same potential as an IAS officer. Even if he’s not on that post, he acts in a way that an IAS officer would do in that condition and controls whatever is happening around him.”
He feels that an IAS officer holds much power, which can be used to uplift the underprivileged and develop society for the better.
