Proposal 5: "Growing Pains" by PREETI MANKAR

GROWING PAINS: Is the Economic Boom making us sick?
Duration: 25'

The film explores the lives of 4 characters in Mumbai, within the age range of 23-38, who now experience negative health consequences as a result of lifestyle changes that have come about with the economic boom in India.


                                             

                                                  

Bio:

Preeti has a master's degree in broadcast journalism and documentary film from NYU.  She graduated in 2006, after which she worked as the series researcher with David Grubin Productions in New York for the PBS 6-part series Jewish Americans.  Her first independent feature length documentary, I am Bombay, traveled to festivals around the globe and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Bollywood and Beyond festival in Germany.

She moved back to India in 2007, following which she worked as a teacher for documentary video in Mumbai's premier communications program, and then went on to start 517 Productions where she scripts, directs and produces documentaries as well as corporate films, marketing films, public service ads for non-profits etc. The link to her website is www.517productions.com. 

In addition to Growing Pains - she is also working on Mad About IIT-JEE - a film which follows 6 students as they prepare for the most competitive exam in the world, and Stolen Children - a film which explores the stories of children who have been abducted by adoption agencies in India and then put up for international adoption.  

SYNOPSIS

The early 21^st century brought with it an extraordinary economic surge to India. Economic reforms and better policy opened up the market bringing a huge boom in business. Several sectors including finance, media, telecom and Information Technology expanded exponentially.  The middle class started growing as young people with basic education found themselves with access to well paid jobs.  India transformed. The landscape of the cities changed – brand new malls and glass office buildings sprung up, and cities spread out.  Property prices went up, but so did consumption. Restaurants, nightclubs and cafes dotted the streets.  The young Indian suddenly had money to spend on luxuries, vices and vacations.  Fast food became the norm, as did after-work drinks.  Lifestyles changed as young executives spent long hours at their desk, ordering in and taking cigarette breaks to fight the stress....

And now ten years later, statistics show that prosperity brought with it lethal illnesses. Diseases linked to affluence, especially heart problems and diabetes, are overtaking poverty-related illnesses such as tuberculosis and diarrhea as the biggest killers in India.  India has 60 percent of global heart diseases, and most of these are in the 23-69 year range.  Not surprisingly, India is also the world capital of diabetes. 

I remember, during my first job as a young reporter with a news channel in 2002 – a co-worker, 24 years old, didn’t come to work one morning.  He had died of a heart attack the previous night.  He was an editor and routinely spent three consecutive days and nights at the office – not leaving to go home even for a shower and a change of clothes. 
   

This documentary will talk to this new India.  The overworked, over stressed but well paid executives.  The young Indians who don’t want to get left behind and often compromise on lifestyle for their career.  The youth, who is continuously bombarded with enticing cocktails and samosas, but doesn’t always have the time to exercise.  We’ll talk to people who have been affected.  Young diabetics working as TV anchors, 30 year old investment bankers who have high cholesterol and are out before their kids wake and home after they sleep, 26 year old magazine journalists who get panic attacks, call center employees who work all night and sleep all day and parents who’ve lost their children to heart attack before they even hit 30.....

The style of the film will be similar to “The Future is Now” where we show the physical and cultural landscape of the city of Mumbai through 4 characters who live here.  Each will represent a different booming industry – but each will have in some way sacrificed their health to do so.  It will be a glimpse of how the boom has changed us – India which was the land of discipline, yoga and vegetarianism has now become recipient of the many sicknesses of wealth...

We will interview the people, and talk to them about their jobs and their lifestyles.  About why they think they became sick.  And intercut with these conversations, the camera will act as a fly-on-the-wall, following them as they live and as they work.....we will see them toiling through the night, compromising on family time, binging on fast food and alcohol.....

The film will put a mirror to what urban India has become....As the film draws to a close, we will talk to our characters about their resolutions for change.  Perhaps it’s time to go back to a simpler life...

TRAILER OF TEASER OF PREVIOUS WORK

Who would have thought that trying to crack the JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) requires as much preparation as the attempt to win an Olympic race? For a minimum of two long years, 4 am wake ups followed by 12-hour marathon study sessions are routine amongst the hundreds of thousands that train for the most competitive exam in the world And after all that, only one in 50 make it; keeping out the competition requires great smarts and even greater dedication. This documentary follows 5 students as they gear up for the 2009IIT-JEE.  We track their lives and their experiences as they study around the clock, and watch as the aspirants and their families make the tall sacrifices that are essential to stay ahead in the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T91op2G2T4

FILMOGRAPHY

Producer/Director:

• Mad About IIT JEE (2011): Official Selection at FilmBazaar (Goa) and DocFest (Kolkata).
• Children for Export (2011)
• YoungBuzz (2010)
• Arohan (2010)
• Uninor Marketing (2010)
• Uninor Motivational (2010)
• Swadhaar Info-film (2009)
• Kaya Life Info-film (2008)
• SIMS Corporate film (2009)
• Spina Bifida PSAs (2009): Given an award for “Excellent PSA” by Lilavati Hospital
• I Am Bombay (2006):  Official Selection in Indo-American Film Festival (2006), NYU Graduate Film Festival (2006), Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival (2006) - Nominated for Best Documentary, Kerala Film festival.
• Arranged Marriage (2005)
• Lower East Side (2005)
• Food Insecurity (2005)
• Malnutrition (2005)

Camera:

• The Toughest exam in the World (2011): Official Selection at FilmBazaar (Goa) and DocFest (Kolkata).
• Drona – The Making (2008)
• I Am Bombay (2006):  Official Selection in Indo-American Film Festival (2006), NYU Graduate Film Festival (2006), Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival (2006) - Nominated for Best Documentary, Kerala Film festival.
• Arranged Marriage (2005)
• Lower East Side (2005)
• Food Insecurity (2005)
• Malnutrition (2005)

Executive Producer:

• Rhino TV Commercial (2008)
• Nirmal Bang TV Commercials:  Not My Husband (2007), In-laws (2007), Father and Son (2007)

Researcher:

• The Life and Times of Clarence Darrow (2012) - (For PBS) 
• The Jewish Americans (2007) - (for PBS)
• I Am Bombay (2006)