Upstream Story (2018) - full transcript

"We never thought
this would happen to us.

We thought we were invincible.

We grew up thinking
that our country

was the best country
in the world.

Venezuela was a paradise.

We took pride
in our borrowed ideology.

One that sounds beautiful

during the adrenaline
rush of a revolution."

The number
of Venezuelan refugees

crossing the Colombian border
has become a daily flood,

triggering a mass exodus.



Fleeing their country hungry,

many are finding Colombia
struggling to feed them all,

causing what
the United Nations calls

a humanitarian crisis.

"The tropical
paradise I once called home

is nothing
but a distant memory...

slowly fading away
like a drawing in the sand...

disappearing
with the rising of the tide."

You should bring
your sister here.

She could stay with you
for a while.

My sister is fine for now.
She is in India.

She is working
with an NGO there, teaching.

But her contract
is about to expire,

and I'm not sure
what we're gonna do after that.



I think I can help.

You said she's
a documentarian, right?

- Yes.
- Okay.

There was a company that I
used to work with in India.

They may be able to put her
in a temporary position,

and then at least she'd have the
visa for the next couple of months.

I think they may be able to get
her on as a foreign reporter.

Hey, I'm sorry I
didn't get back to you earlier.

This past couple of weeks
have been really difficult.

We don't know
what's going on

and, you know,
things just keep getting worse.

Mom and Julio are considering
moving to Colombia

to become refugees.

And I don't know
how to tell you this, but...

I think you should stay
in India as long as you can.

This is me, Ravi.

I'm a content producer
at a local news channel.

I have many stories
to tell you,

starting with Adriana,

the foreign reporter
from Venezuela,

who was assigned to my team
three months ago.

We traveled together
across India

filming the river
water crisis in the country.

I'm glad for this opportunity
of your channel

giving me a chance
to speak to your audience.

Ravi believed
that it will be nice

if people could have
a outsider's perspective.

But let me stress on this...

I'm not
an outsider's perspective.

I'm an insider's account.

I know what it means when...

not a few people,
but an entire society

is engaged in catering
to its survival needs.

I'm just not seeing it,
I lived it.

When we started
our journey,

I hardly knew anything
about Adriana or her past.

She never said much,

saving her thoughts
for her diary.

She reminded me of a river.

A river stopped by dams
and reservoirs.

A river lost in cities
and slums.

Failing to reach the ocean.

A river without a home.

Following
river after river,

town after town,

we saw the consequences
of water crisis

and climate change firsthand.

While the state of Assam
faces massive floods down south,

some states are facing
a severe drought.

...estimated
one billion Indians

face water scarcity
for at least a month each year.

Flooding from
monsoon rain in Western India

has swept away
much that was in its path.

The western
Maharashtra is facing

floods and drought
at the same time.

India's
groundwater is depleting,

and depleting fast.

For a country
that is heavily dependent

on groundwater resources,
this could be really bad news.

We reached
the city of Coimbatore

in southern India,
at the Isha Yoga Center,

headquarters for
the Rally for Rivers campaign.

In the last 10 years,

over 300,000 farmers have
committed suicide in this country.

This is not a joke.

300,000 people have died.

We keep dismissing it,
saying it's because of the bank loan,

it is because
of the support price,

it is because of this and that.

Yes, all those factors
are there.

But the most fundamental thing
for a farmer

is a rich soil
and abundant water.

When these two things
go missing,

we have thrown farming
out of the door.

Without
any technological support,

without
any great infrastructure,

just with traditional knowledge,

our farmers have provided food
for 1.3 billion people.

This is the greatest achievement in the country.

In the month of September,

we are planning a river rally.

I'm personally driving,

covering 16 states,

having major events...

...to create a very strong
awareness in the country

that the rivers of this nation
are dying.

Among thousands
of viewers of our news station,

there was also
a street cleaner named Suraj.

He worked in the area
around my channel

and lived in a slum nearby.

...your channel give me a chance
to speak to your audience.

I know what it means

when not a few people,
but an entire society,

is engaged in catering
to its survival needs.

There was
nothing in common

between the worlds
Suraj saw on TV

and the reality around him.

This leads me
to my next story...

one from my own neighborhood...

that of a bonsai-maker,
Mr. Chatterjee,

and his estranged daughter,
Kankana,

who lived far from her home
in Los Angeles.

Hello?

Abhijit Chatterjee.

Hello?

It's all about making sure
that there is a balance

between the leaf count,
the branch count,

and the leaf size.

In the beginning,
it tends to grow

12 to 18 inches every week.

- Every week?
- Every week!

So it has to be chopped off
that regularly.

Now the basic question is
how to keep the trees small.

It's very simple.

We prune it.

The more I prune it regularly,

the shape of the tree will
restore to the shape I want.

You have to enjoy
the process of bonsai.

Start from the seed,

cutting, wiring.

You need to shape your bonsai.

When it came
to his own children,

Mr. Chatterjee didn't realize

that a bonsai could sometimes
outgrow its planter,

seeking freedom
at the cost of its home.

Is that music
I hear in the background?

Is someone singing
or playing the guitar?

It is my nephew, Gaurav.

Just like old times again.

I remember
just as if it was yesterday.

He sounds so much like you,

though you weren't
much of a guitar player.

Times change,
you know.

I am much older now.

I called to ask you
for a favor, Krishna.

I know you don't have
a workshop at the moment,

but I have a friend
here in Los Angeles.

She wants to take
classical music lessons.

If you say yes, she could
come to you in India.

Kankana is an amazing person
and a quick learner.

I'll send you the details

of the classes
and accommodation.

You please ask her
to contact me.

Mmm.

In this,
one thing you can try...

try to do a little piece,
another intro, you know?

So don't play, first listen.

God, I miss LA already.

Well, India is as usual...
it's just hot,

crazy traffic,
and no Wi-Fi yet.

I'm really nervous, though.

I don't know,
I haven't met the teacher,

but hopefully tomorrow.

I don't think I'll have
the time to go home

because, you know,
as soon as I'm done here,

I'll have to be back in LA
for the film's prep.

Listen, I'm really jet-lagged
and I just got my room,

so I'm just gonna go in,
take a shower,

and rest for a while.

I'll call you later, okay?

Susan, I'm telling you,
this girl is amazing!

And I'm not just saying it
because I'm her manager.

No, I agree.

Her audition tape
was quite remarkable.

That's why I called you.

But this?
We gotta do better than this.

40,000 for Instagram
and 25,000 for Facebook?

You should see some of the other
girls the studio is looking at.

All of them have at least
150,000 followers.

One girl has 5,000 likes
for eating a piece of cake.

So, 5,000 likes for eating a slice
of cake is what you're going for?

No, but it is good promotion.

Could you get past Instagram
just this one time?

She's already in India
for the role.

What do you mean she's gone
to India for the role?

For the role she's playing...
the Indian classical singer!

She's arranged to work
with a music teacher

and she's going to be working
with him for two months.

That's how bad she wants it.

That's good to know,
but I would have expected that.

I thought you were expecting
Instagram likes.

Isabel, you and I both know

this is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for Kankana.

She could be working with some of
the top actors in the industry.

That's why your
social media is so important.

And that's why she's there.

What's this musician's name.

Krishna Mohan Bhatt.

Hello, namaste.

Welcome, welcome.

- Nice to meet you, finally.
- Same.

Please, right here.

That's nice of you.
Thank you very much.

- How was your journey?
- It was long.

It was long,
but I'm here, finally.

And I'm a bit jet-lagged.

- Yes.
- Yeah.

So, I'm just...
I'm curious to hear you.

Would you sing something
for me?

Like a line of something
so I know what to begin

and what we can do together.

Very nice.

Beautiful voice.

So, this song is composed
in Raag Kafi.

Kafi has a flat third

and flat seventh in the scale.

So like...

You know every scale
begins on Sa.

Well, what is your Sa?

So, that means
what is your pitch?

What is your Sa, for instance?

Can you sing your Sa?

Lovely.

Should I keep doing this?

I mean, for how long
should I do this?

This is just the beginning.

I'm sorry, but you have
to keep doing it.

You will find your Sa.

And you will find it
full of surprises.

- So keep doing Sa?
- Yes.

As Kankana
started her music lessons,

Adriana and I traveled with
the Rally for Rivers campaign.

16 states,

180 events,

and 9,000 kilometers.

Why the rally?

This is not activist,
alarmist talk.

There is proper science to this.

This must be
understood clearly.

People think because of water,
there are trees.

No.

Because of trees,
there is water.

We want to make sure
on the riversides,

at least one kilometer
on both sides,

there are trees.

If it's government land,
forest.

If it is farmers' land,

horticulture
and other tree-based farming.

If we have sufficient
number of trees,

we will have
sufficient amount of rain.

If there is sufficient amount
of rain under the trees,

then the water
will sink into the earth

and the rivers will flow.

This effort of wanting to plant

50 crores trees
in three years' time

is a phenomenal commitment.

There are no immediate
results in this.

If we start working today,
if they make a policy today,

it will take 10 to 15 years
to implement the policy.

After that, it'll take
another five to ten years

to actually see 15 to 20% rise
in the river waters.

This means four to five
governments

would have come and gone!

Many of the existing political
leaders may not be alive.

Many of us may not be alive.

So who is going to invest
in a policy like this?

But if we have to do a sustained
policy in that direction,

the people of this nation
have to give one clear, yes!

I beseech all of you
to participate in this

in whatever way you can.

When I say all of you,

I mean, everyone
who consumes water.

We are not
irresponsible citizens

who don't care what happens
to future generations.

We are concerned about it.

To have our rivers flowing,

to leave this land
rich and well,

is the best gift we can offer
to the future generations

of this nation.

I have always
lived in a city,

watching the world through
the TV screens of my studio,

judging it to be right and
wrong, good and bad.

But that was
until I met her...

Adriana.

She was an enigma.

And yet, I never asked her
what her past was,

for it something beyond
these answers that I wanted.

So Ravi, from your studio,

the filmmaker,

a person with a camera,

one who seeks to find
objective facts

from subjective truths.

A spectator.

He saw disillusionment
when I saw magic.

He saw futility
where I saw purpose.

He concluded to make
a commentary on what he saw.

I concluded to get involved
in what I felt.

It was not long before
his cameras and questions

turned towards me.

What was my motivation?
What did I see?

Why rally for rivers?

As I learned more
about Adriana and her country,

I saw a similarity emerge

between the plight
of her people

and the India that I filmed
for three months.

It was a happy little town
back in my home country.

Clean water, clean air,
electricity.

Well...

it used to come on and off.

My mother was a teacher
in a government school

about 50 kilometers from home.

A rickety bus used to come
to pick her up every morning.

It looked as if it was going
to collapse at any moment.

It was run by the
government, you see.

Mother used to say
that people in the villages

were not happy.

That there was a lot of
disappointment everywhere,

"Hay mucha oppression,"
she used to say,

Like, there is
a lot of oppression.

We were not paying attention
to the people

that we should be
paying attention to.

She said that people
were leaving the villages,

heading into the forest
to join the rebels.

She called them the insurgents.

They have a government
on their own,

a parallel system.

Well,
a year after the massive farmer protests

that swept the nation, over 130 farm
organizations across the country

are once again
back into their agitation mode.

Starting today,
the farmer agitation...

Law and order
situation was disrupted

in several parts of the state.

We saw a fire brigade vehical,

in fact, being torched
in Aurangabad,

a police jeep set ablaze
in Hingoli.

How many districts
have been impacted?

Could you give us a sense of how
bad is the situation on the ground?

You're in India, right?

Hey, how do you know?

- I saw your Instagram.
- Yeah.

I came here for a workshop.

I'm preparing for a project.

Are you planning to come home?

- It's a very short trip, Soham.
- Okay.

See if you can make it
this weekend or next one.

I don't think it will happen.
I have a hectic schedule.

It's not that difficult.

Yeah, sure.

So...

Dad misses you.

I've heard that before.

At least a call?

You have my number now.
He can call if he wants.

I'll talk to you later, Soham.

I have to go
for the class, okay?

One of the main
things in a Raga

is Graha, Nyasa, and Ansha.

Graha is home... the home note,
which is like Sa.

Sa is like your home.

And Nyasa are the notes
that you pause on,

that pausing and wandering
around within the notes.

It becomes melodic,
then, you know...

And Ansh is the end

or the substance or essence
of your journey.

This journey in between,

all the notes
that are like Nyaas,

you're pausing, you're
experiencing, you are knowing,

is such a beautiful feeling
of freedom.

If you have freedom,
freedom, freedom only,

but didn't know where to go
back, you would be restless.

So the importance of Sa
is like having a home.

You know where you have
to go back, you know?

Home is a peculiar thing.

It can be made of walls...

or it can be a feeling.

I know what it
feels like to leave and...

to come back to one.

And sometimes
having no home to go to.

Have you ever felt like this?

In a rush to conform
with the rest of the world,

have you ever left someone?

Has your pursuit for freedom

become the very captivity
you were running from?

I called Susan
and she was kinda cold.

She didn't even remember
about my India's trip.

It was as if she heard about
it for the very first time.

You know how much
this project means to me.

And I'm going all the way
for the preparation,

but knowing my luck, I just hope
that things don't mess up this time.

Listen, you concentrate on your
classes and let me worry about Susan.

I had set out to
document the rivers of India.

But across all the diverse
stories that I filmed,

I saw a common
underlying reality.

That in spite
of abundant natural resources

and complex economic policies,

the basic needs
of food, shelter,

and water went unfulfilled.

And here, a new river was born,

a dark river,

flowing with millions
of displaced people

from villages to mega cities.

Cities that were unjust
and unequal.

This past couple
of weeks have been really difficult.

Mom and Julio are considering
going to Colombia

to become refugees.

I don't know
how to tell you this,

but I think you should stay
in India as long as you can.

Let me tell you a story.

I was walking
in the desert one day

and it was very hot,

and I was carrying
with me a bottle of water

that it would last a day,

when I saw a beggar,

a very broken man
crawl towards me.

He was saying,

"Water, water.

Give me a little bit of water."

And I saw him with pity,
like, pondering my choice.

"What is your name?"
I asked him.

Like, "Where are you
coming from?"

But he didn't answer.

He probably didn't even
understand what I was saying.

"Just give me some water,"
he said.

"I'm thirsty."

And I suddenly realize

that in that day
I was not talking to a man,

I was talking to a thirst,

a thirst that has grown
legs and arms,

and... and he had
a mouth to speak.

A year after the massive
farmer protests that swept the nation,

over 130 farm organizations
across the country...

The number
of Venezuelan refugees

crossing the Colombian border
has become a daily flood,

triggering a mass exodus.

You have to enjoy
the process of bonsai.

Start from the seed,
cutting, wiring.

You need to shape your bonsai.

Before leaving
South India,

Adriana took me to the rural
school where she used to teach.

What do you want to become?

I want to become Superman
and go up

and watch the sun.

- And what's your name?
- Advait.

- And what does it mean?
- Hmm?

- What does it mean?
- Non-dual.

Non-dual?

And could you explain that
to me a little bit?

Non-dual means only one.

Nobody's like them.

Only one... person.

That's me.

Is there anything
that you want to learn?

Learn?

I want to learn everything.

Everything!

What's everything?

Everything, whatever!

Everything, everything,
everything, everything.

On the outskirts
of the city was the ocean.

Across the shore
was an ancient island.

The forefathers of this land

had to build a temple
and a university there.

They were not as statues
carved out of the rock.

It was empty space
taken out of the mountain

to leave behind
these magnificent structures.

A society who could carve
this definitely knew something.

There was more consciousness
in those stone faces

than in the living ones that
are walking these halls now.

"What do you see,"
I asked Ravi,

"between the liberty of a child

and a bonded mind
of a grown-up?

What do you see?"

I saw
a loss in translation...

a river that never meets
the ocean...

a bonsai that never becomes
a large tree...

a society that doesn't reach
its fullest potential.

Ravi asked me,
"What was my motivation?

What did I seek?

Why rally for rivers?"

I showed him.

Enough has been said
about the rivers

and its current status,
which is not good at all.

But the real problem is

everybody knows
what's the problem.

And all the concerned people
even know what is the solution,

but it just doesn't happen.

This is the real problem.

Hey, Kankana, it's Isabel.

I tried calling
your India number,

but I couldn't reach you
and, unfortunately,

I... I'm sorry I have...

bad news.

The film
that you're preparing for,

I'm sorry, again,

it's... it's just not
gonna happen.

I know how much
you wanted this role

and how hard you're working.

The thing is,

the production decided
to go with someone else.

They've gone with a girl
from New York

who apparently has
a strong social media following

and that they believe would
help promote the movie better.

Ugh, you know how this bus...

Kankana...

how are you?

I didn't see you for two days.

Yes, Pandit Ji, I'm... I'm fine.

But you're packing.

Are you going somewhere?

Pandit Ji, I didn't come here
to become a classical singer.

I booked a lead role in a film

and my character
was a classical singer.

I wanted to do some research

and I found out
about your workshop,

so I decided to come over.

But I don't have the job
anymore.

I don't see the point
of staying here anymore.

Pandit Ji, I'm really sorry.

Thank you for teaching me and
thank you for letting me stay.

I'm really sorry.

I should have told you before.

Please come tomorrow,
5:00 a.m., for the class.

Pandit Ji, I'm leaving.

I don't see the point
of coming for any more classes.

Leaving for where?

Are you going back
to Los Angeles?

5:00 a.m. tomorrow.

When there's
no urge left in you,

hence, no fear and no anxiety,

you will see
that your breathing

is in tune with the rotation
of the Earth.

When you see the tip of the sun

over the mountain,

count 30 breaths.

On the 31st breath,

start singing...

"Bhor Bhayi Bandish."

In 30 breaths,

the Earth will rotate

by 30 arc minutes

and the sun will rise
completely.

You will see
that your breathing

is the rotation of the Earth.

Stay forever in that moment

if you can.

Call it your home.

♪ Come home, beloved
For the dawn is here ♪

♪ Come home, beloved
For the dawn is here ♪

♪ The night is over
And I am waiting at the door ♪

♪ The night is over
And I am waiting at the door ♪

♪ Put my longing to rest ♪

♪ Come home, beloved
For the dawn is here ♪

♪ It has been lifetimes
Since you left ♪

♪ Eons and lifetimes ♪

♪ It has been lifetimes
Since I lost you ♪

♪ And I am anxious
And restless ♪

♪ My heart, my home
My reality ♪

♪ My heart, my home
My reality ♪

♪ Calls you out
Across the ages ♪

♪ Come home, beloved
For the dawn is here ♪

♪ Come home, beloved
For the dawn is here ♪

Following
the farmers' protest,

daily life is likely
to be affected.

Scarcity of farm and dairy
products in particular

is expected to also affect
the common man.

Prices of essential commodities
could also rise

in the wake
of the farmers' protest.

The protest is supported...

Sir...

I purchased this plant
few months back.

It has stopped growing.

You know what this is?

This is a forest.

Or something that
could have been one.

But...

you keep pruning your trees
to keep them a dwarf.

But this was not meant
to be a dwarf.

It is dying.

It needs to be placed
back into the earth.

Take this back.

And plant it
directly in the earth.

Look after it
for a couple of months.

Once the roots take hold of the soil,
it will become a big tree.

Can I speak to...

Abhijit Chatterjee, please?

This is Krishna Mohan Bhatt
calling from Jodhpur.

This is Abhijit Chatterjee.

Miss, your father is waiting downstairs.

- Who?
- Your father.

This is fantastic
to see that across the country,

from school children
to celebrities,

from simple farmers
to tall leaders,

everybody is standing up
for one cause,

beyond religion,
beyond caste, beyond gender,

beyond political affiliations,

everybody standing up
for this cause.

This is truly fantastic
to witness this.

So, the nation is safe...

because when real issues come,

if we're able to stand up
together,

that's all that really matters.

I knew now
what I had to do.

I headed to
that one place where...

unformed minds
are fertile enough

to become the most potent
human beings.

I went back to school,

not only as a teacher,

but also as a student.

♪ I bow down to you, Time ♪

♪ And to all your musings ♪

♪ I bow down to you, Time ♪

♪ And to all your musings ♪

♪ I stop when you ask me to ♪

♪ Seems like we think alike ♪

♪ I stop when you ask me to ♪

♪ Seems like we think alike ♪

♪ My nomad dreams
Living in distant lands ♪

♪ So restless, so free ♪

♪ My ship sails
On the sleepless sea ♪

♪ Oh, wind, hold them
But carefully ♪

♪ Oh, wind, hold them
But carefully ♪

In all the stories
that I told you,

there was a river,

one that flows
within all of us.

This river can always find
the ocean

when unhindered and free.