Swachh Bharat invokes Goddess Lakshmi, with star power and a dollop of quirk

Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan gets a shot in the arm with this video created by Aur Dikhao, a content creation team, featuring actors Kangana Ranaut, Isha Kopikkar, Ravi Kishan and Omkar Kapoor. The film, for which actor Amitabh Bachchan has provided the voice over, has been directed by Bollywood and ad film director Pradeep Sarkar.

 

It is being promoted on social media with the #DontLetHerGo.

 

The film opens in a middle class mohalla (colony) as the day begins. Children get packed into a rickshaw to school, while a milkman returns with empty cans having done his morning rounds. A man ardently prays before a picture of Goddess Lakshmi, said to be the Goddess of wealth, bell in one hand and holy camphor burning bright in another. His wife (played by Koppikar) meanwhile is cleaning up in the background. She picks up a bucket full of garbage and throws it down from their corridor. Her husband looks up to see the picture of Goddess Lakshmi missing, while the tempo of the soundtrack rises. As the puzzled couple look on, the wife notices a saree-like cloth flying away from their household.  

 

Elsewhere, at a paan shop, its owner Kishan is engrossed in prayer as he starts his day. The cleaning follows. As he pushes garbage off the shop shelf and onto the street, the same thing happens – he looks up to see that Goddess Lakshmi's picture has gone missing. He looks up to see a red saree cloth flying past. 

 

Kapoor is in a car at a traffic signal, eating something. His dashboard sports a picture of Goddess Lakshmi. This too goes missing when he junks the garbage on the road after eating. The cloth flies past.  

 

Ranaut, dressed as Goddess Lakshmi, makes her appearance in the red saree. She walks by to ride pillion on a motorcycle, as Bachchan's voice over takes over the narrative. He says that 'people believe the Goddess of Sukh-Sampatti (Prosperity) is Lakshmi, and she only resides where it's clean. The surprising part is that on the one hand where he pray to her, and on the other we litter at the same place. So, next time before you litter, please think about it, as the Goddess will leave.'

 

The film was uploaded on Aur Batao's YouTube channel on 10 August.

 

Credits (from YouTube):

 

Directed by: Pradeep Sarkar 

Concept: Aditya Bhat

Creative director: Ankit K. Sharma

Screenplay: Sumedha Dogra, Ashish Sawant

Casting: Aditya Bhat, Sagar Thakkar, Harsh Bhartiya

Executive producers (channel): Sagar Thakkar, Harsh Bhartiya

 

Production Company: Apocalypso Filmworks

Director of photography: Sylvester Fonseca 

Producer: Rajesh Bhanushali 

Executive producer: Panchali Sarkar

 

Costume Stylist: Malvika Bajaj

Dressmen: Salim Sheikh

Makeup and hair : Amar Pathak

 

Associate producer and finance head: Sanjeet Jha

Line producer/production manager: Ravi Dasgaonkar

Production assistant: Prakash Puthran

Accounts: Jayesh Parmar and Raji Lewis

Art director: John Antony

Prodution designer: Madhu Sarkar Kuriakose

Chief ad:Krishna Rao

Direction team: Akhil Abrol, Aishwarya Dixit, Mrittika Mukherjee, Shraddha Ghanekar & Jatin Bajaj

Stunt director: Manohar Verma 

Asst cinematographer: Veenu

 

Offline editor: Anirban Dutta 

DI: Navin Shetty

DI assistant: Zaheer Sheikh

Online artist:  Sandeep Patel 

Sound design: Anilkumar Konakandla,

Sound assistant: Soma Bhattacharyaa

Original score: Daniel B George 

Score arranged by: Ujjwal Kashyap

 

Post producer: Sapna Thaker, 

Post production assistant: John Rodrigues and Pravin Rathod 

 

Aur Dikhao post production team: Kartik Bavishi, Amit Jadhav, Amit Shinde, Sayli Jadhav

Aur Dikhao creative team: Nirmit Kalasva, Omkar Shirke, Pardeep Rana

Marketing: Manan Gala, Harsh Bhartiya, Sagar Thakkar, Swagat Giri

Aur Dikhao PR and marketing team: Chinmay Kale, Gurnoor Bedi, Neerja Gandhi, Pratiti Trivedi, Shashwat Gupta, Zenil Dumasya, 

Project Head: Aditya Bhat