Kolkata : In observance of World Autism Awareness Day 2024, one of the most prolific programs of Kolkata has taken place, through exhibition and interaction of the documentary film “ स्वार्थ से परे – Illimitable Self ”, directed by Sourav Sarkar.
The film thoroughly portrayed the vision of the person, Dr. Anil Kr. Kundra, who lived his life passionately to make an autism friendly campus in the outskirts of Hyderabad. At the same time, the film depicts the emotion, communication and unfathomable zeal of the autistic individuals, who are leading a life of dignity and love.
Sarkar has dived deeper through his film, into the philosophy of dedicated service and empathy building through film medium, touching even the minute details of the unique life and feeling of the autistic inmates of the campus, as well as the guardians of the inmates.
The filmmaker, in his own way of captivating the audience through a breathtaking emotional journey of the blissful celebration of being ‘differently abled’, spreads the message of social empathy on autism spectrum disorder and the rights of ‘differently abled’. The premieres of the film continued with a packed audience inside the auditorium, while some of the participants in the film were also present. Among them, the vocalist Shri Srijan Chatterjee elaborated his experience of working with Sarkar, in a very unique manner to sing a song of Rabindranath Tagore in Hindi, for this film.
In the film, his performance enthralled the audience, along with magnificent background score with ‘Sarod’ by Shruti De, inside the film. The illustration artist, Shri Joydeep Chatterjee, a senior painter and participant of the film, spoke to the audience too, expressing his happiness to work in the film, which serves the society at crucial corners. The premiere event of the film was glorified by the eminent resource persons from the field of Education, Law, Human Rights and Paediatrics.
After the film exhibition, senior pediatrician Dr. Shamik Ghosh elaborated the requirement of early diagnosis and intervention in Autism. He mentioned about the early childhood development card (ECD Card) to be read properly, at the grassroots level, to facilitate the early diagnosis. Educationist, Dr. Anupama Chowdhury, focused on the requirement of compulsory training and workshop for the teachers, caregivers, parents and young adults on autism, and other designated disabilities, to built up holistic knowledge and empathy on autism.
Shri Bhaskar Mukherjee, being a legal expert and teacher of law, elucidated the legal provisions for protection of fundamental and constitutional rights of the autistic individuals, so that the autistic individuals could be protected against social and emotional abuse, in all forms. The viewers interacted with Sarkar, his team, and the resource persons, with questions on implementation issues and challenges in the policies for the autistic and other disabled individuals. The film session ended with boundless optimism, and with expectations of such films again from Sarkar.
