In 1962 India, Shankar is a dutiful butler in the home of a senior police officer, adored by his employer’s daughter, Anjana. Despite his status, his life is seemingly one of comfort, responsibility and even love. But when his own child falls ill, Shankar’s responsibility to his family and his employer collide in Irfana Majumdar’s feature debut.
Taken from her own childhood memories, Majumdar’s film is written and produced by her mother, Nita Kumar; stars Majumdar’s husband, Gaurav Saini; and was shot in the family home where she grew up. The result is a critical, yet warm, account of a family’s struggle to work and thrive in a discriminatory system while still maintaining their dignity and love for one another. ”[A]n excellent movie that manages to be both personal and universal.” —Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse
Director Biography
When she’s not planting nearly 10,000 trees on her property in Varanasi, director Irfana Majumdar works with her favorite collaborators—her mother, Nita Kumar, and husband, Gaurav Saini. She is the founding artistic director of the NIRMAN Theatre & Film Studio in Varanasi, India. Shankar’s Fairies (2021) is her debut feature.