DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

The economic fallout of Covid-19 has left many in the 30-50 age group out of a job or with reduced income—but also a chance to reskill

- M.G. ARUN & SHWWETA PUNJ

AARTI BAGDI, 41

Film maker & Educator, Mumbai

SAILING HER OWN BOAT

Aarti Bagdi made Mumbai her home about 20 years ago. Since then, she has won a Filmfare Award for a short film, Khamakha, striking a balance between pursuing her passion in filmmaking and other content development projects with companies like Mukta Arts. She was in talks to take over as creative head for a show on HotStar, a popular streaming platform when the lockdown was announced.

The talks continued on WhatsApp, but the conversation then went dead, says Bagdi. In pre-COVID times, she would take on about three projects a year. But 2020 had different plans.

She says that regular gigs are difficult, if not impossible, to come by right now. Bagdi has turned her disappointment in coping with the isolation of COVID and poured it into art. “It’s only at 41 that I realised that I could sketch,” she laughs. The sketches were a huge hit and Bagdi’s home is now filled with cartons for deliveries. It began with friends and family but now the word is out and orders are coming in from social media. “It began as a 100-day project and has emerged as an alternative career,” she says.

She has also managed to finish a script for a feature film that had been pending for a year. With some actors who live in her housing society in Mumbai, Bagdi is also busy prepping for her film on the lines of a lockdown story. She already has a producer for the project onboard. “I am sailing my own boat now. And I am enjoying it.”

— Shwweta Punj