Vishal Bhardwaj: The National Film Award acknowledges plight of migrant labourers

Filmmaker and music director Vishal Bhardwaj is happy to break his dry spell and get his eighth National Film Award of Best Music Direction in the Non-Feature Film category. And he says the honour also recognises the pain of migrant workers.

He has won the honour for documentary 1232 Kms: Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar, which chronicles the pain and agony of migrant workers during the first wave of the virus crisis and lockdown.

“I was stuck on seven for a long time… maybe for the past six or seven years. I am so happy to get the honour. This was least expected for the project,” Bhardwaj tells us.

The 56-year-old continues, “I felt like that for two reasons. One: it was a documentary. I took a new path for documentaries. Usually, documentaries don’t have songs. When I watched the documentary, it moved me so much that I wanted to express it through poetry and music”.

Recalling the making of the music, the director shares, “Amid the pandemic, I had shifted to Mussoorie. When Vinod Kapri contacted us, Gulzar and I were so moved. We decided to do it free of cost, and asked him to make the basic recording cost”.

“We all were pent up inside because of what was happening in the pandemic and the images we were seeing of the migrants walking for thousands and thousands kilometres. Gulzar ji summed up in one line, Marenge To Wahin Jaakar. I found an outlet to express my feeling through the documentary,” he says, adding that the music reminded him of Chodh Aye Hum Wo Galiyan.

Here, Bhardwaj admits that the national honour acknowledges the plight of the migrant workers as well. “Woh acknowledge nahi hua tha, na ho raha tha. I really want to thank this jury for acknowledging not just this song, but through this song they are actually acknowledging the pain of all the migrants, jo itni mushkilyun se guzare apne ghar jaane ke liye”.

Previously, the director has won National Film Award for projects such as Godmother, Omkara and Haider. For him, the sanctity of the award remains unwavered.

“It remains the most prestigious award for me… Baaki awards jo hote hai, woh lagta hai ke kissi paan ya gutke ke awards hain. Everyone wants to sell something, and want to show on the television to recover the money, and stars se dance leke usko exploit karenge. They come with a cheapness attached to it,” he stresses.

That’s what made him detach from such awards over time. “At the National Film Awards, the president gives you the honour. You feel honoured to get the honour from the first citizen of India. Uska koi milan nahi hai. The sanctity of the national award, its beauty and honour is precious,” he says while wrapping up.