Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We unearthed the real story of one of India's first photojournalists, Kulwant Roy, who photographed historic moments in the Indian Independence struggle. Told through the narrative of his family friend, who inherited a cache of nearly lost photographs of the freedom struggle. These included photos of Independence leaders like Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah among others. We brought forth these never-before-seen photos of the freedom movement on the occasion of India’s 72nd Independence day and told the story of their discovery and preservation. The story shows the value of preserving photos and memories as the narrator tells us how some photos were lost and damaged forever. In showing his efforts to restore and preserve them, the film makes Indians realize the value of the priceless photographs that were saved.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

The Indian Independence Day is an event of great importance for the country and galvanises most Indians into a feeling of patriotic fervour. On the day, as the nation celebrated, we connected with the audience and made it a day of reflection and memory of the history of the nation’s struggle and eventual triumph. The story was told through never-before-seen photos of the independence struggle that were nearly lost. Through the story of the unseen photos of national leaders like Gandhi and Nehru, we made people reflect on the importance of preserving their invaluable personal photos.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

In our consumer interviews, we heard how users lost precious photos when they change phones, backup photos at unknown folders/drives or carelessly delete them while cleaning their phones. There was a sense of regret after accidentally losing these photos. We needed to evoke a larger emotion about photos and memories. We wanted to do this by asking a whole nation to relook at their outlook on their personal histories as a thing of immense value. But we also wanted them to feel this emotion as a collective. INSIGHT: LOSING PHOTOS MAY SEEM TRIVIAL, BUT IN TIME, IT COULD MEAN LOSING OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY Photos are the source that links our past, present and future. Yet, people lose these in obsolete storage devices or old pictures that deteriorate. A feeling of pride and loss in the story of Kulwant Roy’s box of remaining photos could help them value their own photos.