“Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard and then, succeed on purpose”…
Dholpur, a small constituency in Rajasthan, which was once famous for Machkund temple, Shergarh fort, king Dhawal and CM Vasundhara Raje will be known by Sanjeev Sharma’s name henceforth. A young and dynamic Sharma is the writer and director of “Shuddhi-A new beginning”. This short film loosely revolves around the lives of prisoners and police officers serving at Jaipur Central Jail. The unique thing is that the movie features an actual cast of cops and prisoners who’re currently serving their life-term sentence at the jail.
Sharma rose to fame with his movie entering the Limca book of Records in 2014, for featuring real inmates, police officers and prison in the movie. The success of this Mumbai-based director traces back to 2014, when Sharma shot a 5-minute black and white feature film in 2014. The passionate director organized a week-long theatre workshop for the inmates wherein they could grasp basic acting skills. The success of this 5-minute feature film inspired Sharma to try other ideas.
Sharma’s Shuddhi is based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi- the father of our nation, who picks up certain bad habits during teenage. The idea behind this movie is to preach that it’s expected of human beings to make mistakes. However, one can attain true salvation if they realize it and repent for it. By improving ourselves, we can make up for our sins.
Sharma used 12 prisoners for the movie and trained them in multiple theatre workshops organized in the state. For Sharma and his crew, it was a heart-touching, overwhelming experience whereas for Sachim Mittal, the IG of Jaipur Jail, it was a creative learning process for prisoners and policemen. Mittal believes the movie has helped the inmates explore their inner self. It has also sharpened their acting skills. Consequently, Sharma and a few others have decided to take this project across the country.
After Shuddhi’s success, Sharma has emerged as a source of inspiration for countless young actors and filmmakers around the world who give up on their Bollywood dreams, in pursuit of stable and viable career options. It will also help the normal people learn about prisoners’ lives and change our opinions on them!
