No place for books

Rajendra Rajan

Once these bustled with life, but today libraries wear a deserted look and librarians can be seen sitting alone waiting for the readers. It is this sad state of affairs that is addressed in Kamlesh K. Mishra’s debut film Kitaab. In the lead role played by the legendary Tom Alter, his last film brings forth the painful journey of a librarian who has a deep emotional attachment with books and readers. The 24-minute silent film, which was recently screened at the Bikaner Film Festival, has received several awards.

The story of the film is woven around the increasing influence of electronic gadgets, which have virtually taken away our love for books.

Set in the hill town of Mussoorie, the film takes one to the year 2002 when the library of Tilak Memorial Institute buzzed with activity and had a number of readers coming in everyday. The librarian (Tom Alter) welcomed every reader warmly and issued books with a smile. 

However, as the influence of laptops and mobile phones increases, the number of readers to the library starts dwindling. By 2011, the alarming fall in readers becomes pronounced. Tom Alter is seen opening the lock of the library with a heavy heart and he keeps waiting from morning till evening for readers to come. He tries his best to get the last reader coming to his library.

The sad end nears when his lone reader Puja Dixit, too, falls prey to the love of gadgets, and stops visiting the library. He feels dejected. In a desperate attempt to woo her back, he visits her house with some books in his hands. But Puja, who is sitting in her lawn, remains engrossed in her laptop. Soon she starts chatting on her mobile phone. All this while, she remains oblivious of his presence at the gate.

The librarian keeps hoping that she will pay attention to him. Disheartened, he leaves books on the gate and returns to the library. When Puja spots the books, she realises that the librarian had come to meet her. She rushes to the library, where she finds that the librarian is no more. He had died waiting on his chair.

The music of the film conveys the deep nuances and feelings of the librarian and even readers.