“Please give me your vote,” says a contesting candidate to a woman standing along with her son beside her hut.
“What do I get,” the woman shoots back in irreverent promptness showing the common scourge such a scene has become during elections.
“Take this Rs. 500 for now,” says the contender.
Even as she takes the money, the scene shifts to a future scenario where the woman goes to the same politician, apparently elected by now, seeking his help to get her son a job.
“Please arrange at least Rs. 5 lakh. Nothing comes free nowadays, you see. I am here to help you. Just arrange the money and come back,” the politician says.
The scene is cut back to the present where the woman returns the money given to her and says, “I shall not sell my vote. My son’s future is worth more than Rs. 500 even as she gives a message appealing to the audience to not sell their vote.
So goes one of the short films developed by the District Public Relations Officer and Election Media Centre in-charge P. Thimmappa with the help of local stage artistes drawn from numerous districts besides K. Basha, an aspiring short film director with knowledge of film editing and camera work.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Thimmappa said, “This is the only such short film made on elections. We wanted to do an encore this year too, albeit with much less funds to spare,” averred Mr. Thimmappa.
While Mr. Thimmappa scripted the plot behind the story and penned the dialogues, Mr. Basha did the casting and the rest. The entire movie was made with a budget of Rs. 5,000.
We are amazed at the final product given the little expenditure we incurred and are satisfied by the appreciation of the District Collector D. S. Lokesh Kumar.
The films will be screened in movie theatres and local TV channels as part of the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme initiated by the Election Commission for creation of voter awareness and increasing voter turnout.
