Shuddhabrata Sengupta

Prisoner No. 626710 is Present chronicles the arrest and prolonged incarceration of activist Umar Khalid, accused of orchestrating the 2020 New Delhi riots. Through archival footage and personal accounts, Lalit Vachani explores Khalid's activism, the impact of his imprisonment on his partner Banojyotsna Lahiri, and the broader crackdown on dissent under the Modi government. The film situates Khalid’s story within the larger political repression of civil rights movements and Muslim voices in India.

Short film that invites us to think about the relation between the presence of iron — a fugitive from the stars, sleeping deep inside the earth — and the veins of warm-blooded mammals. It reads meteorites for clues about the stains at the edge of every sharp blade that cuts into flesh, and registers resonances that ricochet between mining, militarism and the mutations that mark a remote landscape.

The film is a cinematic articulation of inculcating curiosity in classroom spaces. It urges reflection on the idea that education is not just about gaining knowledge; it is also about being open to dialogue, self-awareness, and personal transformation.