Navi Mumbai, Navi Begari

The Nakas of Navi Mumbai are an embodiment of the bustling vibrancy that defines the city. They happen to be the site of many different kinds of economic activities on a daily basis one of which is the recruitment of informal construction workers for various developmental projects and construction work happening around the city. The film follows the lives of the construction workers vis-à-vis the nakas and explores the Nakas as a space. A large percentage of these workers are first, second or even third generation migrants to Mumbai coming from different states like Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh etc and also from far flung areas within Maharashtra. Although the construction sector contributes a considerable percentage to India’s GDP, most of the labour involved in this industry is casual and informal which, needless to say, comes with a multitude of vulnerabilities and social issues that the workers have to deal with every day. The film tries to bring these daily issues of lack of work, registration delays, pay cuts, health issues etc to the attention of the audience. The film also tries to explore the domestic spaces of the workers and aspects like differences in the work profile of men and women workers, the latter also being burdened with the responsibility of raising children and looking after daily household chores. Working in close collaboration with YUVA, an NGO working around the issues of the construction workers, the film also heavily draws from their inputs and work. As the narrative navigates through the nakas and the settlements of the workers we come across different stories from the men and women workers, the women in the domestic spaces, and the NGO workers from YUVA about the socio-political realities, vulnerabilities, precarities, work environment, policy measures and experiences with the government machinery that have come to define the lives of the workers.

Directors

Navi Mumbai, Navi Begari