The Offshore Kumortuli | God Makers of Silicon Valley Doc

I spent few weekends with the artists of offshore Kumortuli for 2 months during weekends to capture their story. These artists of Kumortuli come to Bangalore every year before Ganesh Chaturthi and return to Nabadweep in West Bengal at the onset of Durga Puja. When I first visited them this year to order for our Durga Pratima, I found them abandoning the idols under a tree. This spurred a conversation where I understood that the unsold idols due to various government restrictions, makes their work throw away.

These artists spend months to create an idol in the hope of getting a buyer. But due to COVID when their art remains unsold, they have no storage and eventually destroys these immaculate art they have created with their own hands. Naturally this causes a huge impact to their livelihood.

We usually visit a Durga Puja, enjoy for the four days and then get going with our daily lives. But no one thinks about those Das Bhuja (10 hands) which builds the Durga, The Dasabhuja Devi. An artists work remain unnoticed. This is when I thought that I should make this film to tell their story to the world.

The film showcases the entire process of idol making from beginning to end. Here I also interview the artists to get their perspective and try to capture the ethos and sentiments behind the Durga Puja, as we see it during these tough COVID times.

This is my tribute to the art form which makes our yearlong wait for Durga Puja worthwhile!

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