A tribute to Indian indentured labourers

THE official trailer for the much-anticipated feature movie The Cane Cutter which provides insights into the trauma and travails of Indian indentured labourers who arrived nearly 165 years ago, was launched on Friday.

- MERVYN NAIDOO

Significantly, November 16 has been set as the date for the movie première. On that day in 1860, the first Indian indentured labourers arrived in South Africa on board the SS Truro.

Shan Moodley, the film’s producer, and Dr Eubulus Timothy, as director, have weaved together a stirring modern-day love story that harks back to days of the labourers embracing life locally, and ruled by colonial masters.

Two teens on board the Umlazi, the last indenture ship that travelled to Durban, fell in love during the journey, in spite of their cultural differences. Telugu was the mother tongue for one and the other was Gujarati speaking.

After that rendezvous, the couple never met again, but their romance was rekindled over 100 years later through their grandchildren. A final year law student drops out of university to do a documentary on his grandfather's trip from India as an indentured labourer. His world changes when he meets a young doctor fighting for her independence as a woman.

Accordingly, the film’s tagline reads: “A young man in pursuit of his identity meets a young woman fighting for her independence.”