Actor Manoj Bajpayee and Divya Dutta, along with director Ben Rekhi, are exploring questions of community, human connection and the changing face of urban life in the upcoming film adaptation of Aravind Adiga's acclaimed novel ‘Last Man in Tower’.
Set against the backdrop of Mumbai's redevelopment boom, the film follows a man who takes a stand against the redevelopment of his residential society, putting him at odds with members of his own community.
At the heart of the story is a larger question: “What's our place in the future?” The filmmakers and actors use the conflict to examine how rapid urban transformation can affect relationships and a sense of belonging.
Bajpayee, known for portraying complex and isolated characters in films such as Aligarh, Gali Guleiyan, Bhonsle, Joram and Jugnuma, described the film as a kind of documentary for the times ahead.
“It is a fine film on relationships and human connection,” Bajpayee said, stressing that the story carries a warning about the future.
He said that regardless of whether a building is old or new, large or small, the most important thing people should preserve is the relationships they build with others.
The film uses the redevelopment of a Mumbai residential society as a lens to examine loneliness, conflict and the gradual erosion of community ties in an increasingly urbanised world.
Through its central conflict, Last Man in Tower seeks to ask whether progress and modernisation should come at the cost of the human relationships that give a neighbourhood its identity.
