Supriyo Sen’s next is on a former gangster-turned-musician

National Award winning director Supriyo Sen is busy working on a documentary titled Waste Side Story. It has been five years since he started research on the subject.
Speaking about his work, Supriyo said, “Amidst an ambience of extreme violence in the land fill area of Kolkata, a slum band led by ex-gangster Sanjay Mondal, continues its journey to create music out of waste material and recycling lives against all odds.My documentary is about this journey.”
In 2010, a slum band from Kolkata’s Tangra reached the grand finale of India Got Talent and enthralled the audience by the sound and music they created out of waste materials. They have an ecstatic journey for a year. But when the short-lived fame of reality show died down, the band members had to face their own reality in the slum. Said Supriyo, “Sanjay formed this band in order to save the slum boys from being prey to the syndicates that need young recruits for regular skirmishes to ensure control over the booming real estate industry. Other than earning livelihood from cleaning and recycling activities, the kith and kin of these kids always have to depend on the gangs for their survival.”
Sanjay believed that music is the only hope for a counter survival. He also tried to change the attitude of the kids towards life by addressing the issues of illiteracy, child marriage and other social malice. “Initially, he faced vehement opposition from inside and outside. But he took the path of negotiation with the kids and their families which yielded positive results. He also used all his experience and connection as an ex-gangster to deal with the syndicates in preventing the boys from taking destined route of criminal activities. At the outset, the boys believed in him and stuck together,” Supriyo said. But as they grew older, the pressure of earning livelihood and taking up family responsibilities grew. “The music was not bringing in enough money to cater to their needs. The syndicates were also looking for opportune moment to hit back and weaken the resolve of the boys. Sanjay helplessly witnessed those whom he had groomed for almost a decade gradually succumbed to the web of violence,” he added.
While so much was happening, a new group of children had already picked up music and become good enough to replace the older rank. “Sixteen-year-old Kaushik with a special skill in rapping took the initiative of putting together a new generation of boys and girls and inspired Sanjay to pick up from where the others left off. Thus a unique story of survival and revival emerges from the ‘waste side’ of the city of Kolkata,” he concluded.