Scientist Who Runs at Night: Film on dreamer-innovator at S Asia fest
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Undaunted, Guha taught at the IIT at 7 am, then attended medical school at University College of Medical Sciences at 8 am.
'The Scientist Who Runs at Night'—a documentary exploring the life of this octogenarian — is one of the most compelling entries competing at the 8th South Asian Film Festival.
Guha's achievements have been widely documented about how he developed the one-time, minimally invasive injection with negligible side effects that is effective up to 15 years.
"Despite successful clinical trials on more than 2,000 humans, he still faces challenges. He's up against the international pharma lobby and the $30 billion contraceptive market. He is now guiding the RISUG project through the last bureaucratic hurdles but will he realize his dream and obtain final approval and a licence to manufacture the drug for the global market? But Guha refuses to give up.
Every night, he goes for a jog to clear his mind," said director Mithun Pramanik.
What sets this film apart from many others is its avoidance of becoming an extensive series of scientific lectures, which may have risked alienating average viewers. "A challenge of making a documentary on such a personality is the abundance of interview footage. Having been interviewed multiple times, Guha anticipates the questions and delivers almost identical answers in most interviews. I requested Mithun to film him in his personal space with his family backstory from Patna and his daily conversations with his wife, rather than just within the confines of labs and lecture rooms.
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I was willing to accept even 'NG (no good)' shots without proper lighting and lapel mics, knowing it would reveal various dimensions largely overlooked in his other documentation," said editor Saikat Sekhareswar Ray.
The film offers a glimpse into the role of a spouse, who adapts to the quirks of supporting a scientist husband, who transforms one room of his home into a lab, the loneliness of an ageing couple, their children being away abroad, and the composure of receiving a call from the PMO about the Padma award while calmly continuing a meal. What finally emerged is a balance of Guha's professional and personal lives making the film cinematic without sacrificing its essential character.
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