In the first week of March, life was normal in India. Be it students, professionals or artistes, everyone was going through their routine life. Back then, nobody would have thought that in a few days time life would not only change, but also come to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Socha Na Tha is the title of the lockdown poem written by Amitosh Nagpal, Sanjay Chopra, and Tisca Chopra. The poem highlights how the unthinkable has happened since mid-March and our lives have changed drastically. Like working from home, which includes having Zoom meetings, exercising at home while parks lie empty, unexpected romance, spying on people, who don’t wear a mask, or funerals taking place online.
The poem moves you right from the beginning as it finely captures every aspect of the lockdown, including its effect on migrant labourers. Everyone who has gone through this lockdown will be able to easily relate to the poem.
The video features a long list of film artistes including, Tisca, R Madhavan, Anurag Kashyap, Gajraj Rao, Nandita Das, Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Arshad Warsi, Maria Goretti, Sayani Gupta, Gul Panag, Manav Gohil, Kavita Kaushik and RJ Maliskha.
Although each artiste has shot their bit at home, the compilation is seamless and it feels as if they are all part of one film.
Watch the poem: