The majestic Gateway, the golden yellow Juhu beach, the bustling streets of Bombay Stock Exchange and the glamorous Bollywood are probably the first impressions of the city that is called Mumbai. The Mayanagri has long been famous for promising fame and fortune to countless of those chasing their dreams but rarely does the fear of failure and being lost among the same countless stops anyone from boarding their train to the promised land.
The generation of millennials brought with itself numerous changes to the society, from cars running on water to the 24×7 virtual presence on social media. Among these bountiful changes, the millennials also woke up a sleeping monster, one which probably did not even exist apparently before the trend of social media. The monster which goes by the name of Depression. It is not a widely discussed problem to the point that many do not even consider a problem.
With all the happy faces around you every day, it is hard to identify the ones who cry every day when alone and deal with demons powerful beyond measure. This everlasting mental and emotional pressure which is starting to grip everyone from a fifty-year-old to a teenager pushes them to the point of committing the ultimate forfeit – the act of suicide.
From endless instances of suicide acts by corporate professionals dealing with work-life pressure to the viral Whatsapp videos of 9-year old jumping off the building roofs because they were scared of how their parents would acknowledge their poor academic results, Rajesh Pardasani made up his mind to produce the movie when he was narrated the script by director Tariq Khan. He was determined that the message to fight with problems and the spirit to never give up should be conveyed to the young audience of today and he couldn’t think of a better way than entertainment.
With the go-ahead from the producer, Tariq approached the veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt to act in the film – a first for him. But the seriousness of the issue and the urgency to address the same, he was convinced the moment he saw Tariq’s desperation to make the film and his dream come true. The brilliant script with intermingled seven stories, the city of Mumbai and phenomenal performances by the cast are some of the key points on Tariq’s list of formulas for success.
His dream to reveal the dark side of every pursuit of happiness comes true on the 19th of October, a day he hopes that he can share it with everyone. The film ‘The Dark Side of Life – Mumbai City’ comes out in theatres near you on 19th October so mark your calendars to make sure that you witness the next big thing firsthand.
