Midnight runner Pradeep Mehra, you deserve a biopic

Dear Pradeep Mehra ,

I saw  the amazing video which I’ve titled, taking inspiration from  Mandela,  The Long Run Home. I can’t get over your sheer simplicity and laboriousness . When you are asked about your daily run home from your workplace , your answers are simple  and heartrending.

 I  wanted to adopt you then and there. I see  children  of well-to-do families partying  and wasting  their lives at 26-27.  They have their parents  climbing up the nearest  wall worrying what their  child would do in life. And here  you are so  focused at 19 on what  you want to do in  life.

 You want to  join the army. You are training for it while working to make  ends , cooking  for yourself and for your brother…I had  tears  in  my eyes . I felt a  surge  of  guilt and protectiveness towards  all the  Pradeeps   of  the world who are struggling, especially now  post-COVID, to keep their heads  above the water  . Thousands  of families with single wage-earners  have lost jobs, and have used up all their savings.

I thought of all of them  when I  saw you.  And I wished every  parent would have a child like you. I showed  the  video to my  friend Sanjay Leela  Bhansali, and he says  there should  be  a film  on  your life, because as he  puts it, this  is  not just about  you  but about  all those  young hopeful dreamers who  have meager means  to manifest their dreams into  reality. And  yet they keep dreaming. You  represent the hopes  and aspirations of every  young Indian who  is  not born with a golden , silver or copper spoon  in  his or her  mouth.

 I want to  thank Vinod  Kapri  for  making  the  video. Vinod is  someone I admire  for using his filmmaking skills  for something  other than entertainment.  Hemade, an  exceptional documentary  1232 KMs in  2021 on what  happened  in  March  2020 when a  nationwide lockdown  was declared  and   thousands  of migrant labourers  were stranded   in  the  major cities  without livelihood,  food  or hope. This was the story of seven such Bihari migrants who decided  to  cycle  their way  home  to the Saharsa district in Bihar more than a  thousand  miles away.

When and  how did this  great nation of ours  come to this? How did we  become so  impervious  and  indifferent to the plight  of  the poorest  of the poor?  Kapri is  according to me a  true hero and Pardeep,  I want to thank  him for  bringing  your story into the limelight. My only fear is that  this sudden surge  of attention—you are now  giving back-to-back interviews  and  taking selfies with  strangers who are accosting you on the road—will  spoil  you,  ruin your innocence.

I remember  with a  shudder that  stupid singer on the railway station whom the even stupider  Himesh Reshammiya convinced she was  a potential Lata Mangeshkar.  Or  that Baba from the dhaba who become  a  celebrity  overnight and then  decided  to sue the  very man who made him  famous accusing him  of  siphoning   off his money.

The social  media can be  a very  comforting zone. But it can also be extremely dangerous  and  delusional. Stay  grounded, kiddo. And you have a long  way to go.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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