Rajaditya’s film speaks for voiceless people on the fringes of India

Rajaditya Banerjee’s film ‘Death Certificate’, based on his late father Debasish Banerjee’s short story, revolves around the life of a tribal woman Sabitri and her search for her husband, Ramlokhon, who happily served water to thirsty rail passengers in a remote corner in Eastern India. Ramlokhon doesn’t return home one evening.
Ramlokhon’s friend, Shibu, comes to look for him in his village and informs Sabitri and the grand old man (Dadu) in the village that he is missing.Sabitri, Dadu and Shibu embark on a journey to look for Ramlokhon through the mountains and forests filled with memories of the missing man. They arrive at the station only to hear that someone has been runover by a passenger train. Station Master informs Sabitri that he hopes it isn’t Ramlokhon but in the worst case scenario in case the dead body is his she must obtain a death certificate.
“Where is Ramlokhon? Is death certificate merely a document? The film is a strong statement against bureaucracy, corruption and human rights abuses inflicted on the voiceless people who exist on the fringes of India. We have globalised technology, when will we globalise humanity?” said the director while speaking about his directorial debut.
The cast of this film includes Pradeep Bhattacharya, Bhupen Pandey, Deepamala Sengupta and Rajaditya. While the screenplay, dialogues and direction are by Rajaditya, Pradip Chattopadhyay of Moheener Ghoraguli fame has scored the music.