On the footprints of Agra’s shoe trade

New documentary set for release on March 13 in five cities

March 04, 2015 02:02 am | Updated 02:02 am IST - MUMBAI:

“Legacy is not what you inherit. It’s what you give back.” These profound words printed on a handmade poster reflect the principle that drove journalist-turned-filmmaker Atul Sabharwal to trace the legacy of the trade in shoes his family engaged in for over six decades.

Though exposed to the trade from childhood, which he spent in Agra, he chose not to step into the shoes of his ancestors.

However, the early experience propelled Mr. Sabharwal to set out on a quest to trace the legacy of Agra’s shoe industry, which dates back to the Mughal times. The outcome is an engaging documentary titled In Their Shoes . The film is scheduled to release on March 13 in five cities, including Mumbai and Agra.

The inspiration for the film comes from home — his family, which migrated after Partition has been engaged in the shoe trade in Agra for 60 years. The documentary features Mr. Sabharwal and his father taking a journey through the narrow lanes of Agra, its crowded slums, bustling markets and export houses, recording local voices and colours.

The 92-minute film draws us into the narratives of footwear artisans, traders, manufacturers, exporters and government officials. Though the film was made in 2013, before the BJP government’s Make in India slogan caught everyone’s fancy, it does have lessons for the project.

“Make in India sounds exciting but needs definition. Make in India ideology needs to protect indigenous industry and traders. In its present form it is only about attracting investment,” said Mr. Sabharwal.

Agra, synonymous with the Taj Mahal, is also perhaps the largest footwear manufacturing hub in the country, employing lakhs of people in around 10,000 units.

Once a thriving hub, it is today a shadow of its past, struggling under an onslaught of external trade factors, labour crisis, erratic power supply, competition from cheaper products from China and over mechanisation. Mr. Sabharwal’s documentary shows how the race to make cheaper products, with the support of new forms of mechanisation, has led to fall in quality of goods and poor pay for labourers.

Mr. Sabharwal’s previous works include Powder , a film on the narcotics trade in Mumbai, and Aurangzeb , a family drama against the backdrop of Gurgaon’s real estate boom.

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