Documentary
Mukul Madhav Foundation addresses child labour in a short film ‘Baitullah’
Mumbai: Finolex Industries’ corporate social responsibility arm, the Mukul Madhav Foundation, has released a short movie, Baitullah. addressing child labour. The award winning short film is sure to open your eyes. The picture, picturing a little boy named Baitullah working at a tea stall in the city, poses the question to the viewer.
Directed, written and produced by Jitendra Rai (M/S Matheno Films), the main protagonist is played by child artist Om Kanojiya, supported by Ishtiyak Khan and Vipin Sharma. The film has been nominated and selected at 85+ international and national film festivals and has already won 26 awards.
“What does this child need to do to become like you?” is a question that is met with awkward silence in the film but hopes to ignite a conversation amongst viewers and the more fortunate.
Millions of children across the world, and especially in India, are exploited and denied their childhood every day. They are kept out of classrooms and forced to work as touts or earn a daily wage for their families due to poverty, lack of awareness, or just plain neglect and apathy. Most are hidden away in sweatshops making shoes, jewelry, and firecrackers. But some are in plain sight. ‘Chottu’ at your friendly neighbourhood tea stall or lunch place.
Speaking on the evolution of the film, the director Jitendra Rai said, “As a filmmaker, I look at the world around me with my eyes wide open. I couldn’t ignore the child labour I saw around me, but I was also left with a sense of helplessness. As a filmmaker, I chose to capture this helplessness, the silent appeal these children have in their eyes when they look at people better-off than them.”
Rai added, “This helplessness turned into hope, when I saw the work that is being done by organisations like the Mukul Madhav Foundation. I am also grateful for their support of this film.”
Mukul Madhav Foundation managing trustee Ritu Chhabria said, “This film asks a question that started us on our journey working with marginalised and vulnerable children: how could each child enjoy the things we take for granted in our lives? We set out to put things in place, one small block at a time.”
Established in 1999, the Mukul Madhav Foundation works with communities across India, uplifting the less fortunate with hope and dignity. Their work with children, especially those vulnerable to exploitation, assault, and trafficking, is slowly tilting the scale at the grassroots. Supporting children with initiatives in education, nutrition, and mental health. Offering a helpline, counsellors, and legal aid for children. Rescuing and rehabilitating exploited children and then reintegrating them back into the mainstream. But even more importantly, strengthening the community. Giving parents and youth access to healthcare, sanitation, skill development, and employment. Giving each of them a sense of dignity. With the belief that in order for children to be safe, their community must first feel financially and emotionally secure.
MUMBAI: From Ranthambore with roar. This World Tiger Day, BBC Player is sinking its claws into the untamed heart of India with Legendary Tigers of India, a gripping documentary that prowls onto screens this Independence Day, 15 August . Narrated by the late, legendary conservationist Valmik Thapar, the film is more than just stripes and stares. It’s a moving chronicle of survival, strength, and the shifting story of India’s national animal. Thapar, one of the world’s foremost tiger experts, spent a full monsoon-to-monsoon year tracking a new generation of Bengal tigers deep within Ranthambore, one of India’s most iconic tiger reserves.
With intimate access and five decades of experience behind the lens and in the wild, Thapar offers rare glimpses of tigers not just as apex predators, but as emotionally complex, intuitive creatures navigating shrinking habitats and growing human presence.
The film roars to life from Thapar’s own jungle home at the forest’s edge, blending dramatic visuals with a deeply personal narrative. From mother cub dynamics to solitary alpha males, the documentary captures the instinctual ballet of survival, mating, territoriality and raw jungle drama woven through the lens of ecological urgency and reverence.
Premiering exclusively on BBC Player in India via Tata Play Binge and Prime Video (add-on subscription required), this special release is BBC’s tribute to India’s tiger legacy. With India currently home to more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers 3,682, as per the 2023 census the documentary feels both timely and timeless.
In an age of noisy content, Legendary Tigers of India invites audiences to pause, listen, and marvel. Not just at the majesty of the tiger, but at a conservation journey that began with 1,411 tigers in 2006 and roared back in triumph. This isn’t just a documentary. It’s a call to protect what still prowls.
