Year / Duration : 2002 / 46mins

Format : Beta

What does it mean to be old and alone in urban India?-Independence from the pressures of the rat race… A serene and peaceful existence….Or does it mean a solitary existence within the confines of four walls and a roof-and sometimes not even that? When does independence become isolation?

Produced by Help Age India, Where do I go from here” is a glimpse into the cheerless lives of most of the grey population and throws up many pertinent questions related to the lives of older people in Urban India.

This is a film about ageing through the eyes of the elderly. As we stand at the beginning of a new century-India is ageing rapidly. Its old are growing older because of longevity increasing but the younger generation is not around to witness it.

Almost every family has a son or daughter living abroad searching for better pastures while the elders are left behind. Even if they live together they are overwhelmed by the new concepts of time and space. With people like Frenie Presswala, Urmilla Basu. The Mongias, Winnie and Rebecca and many others like them, the film focuses on the darkness that becomes synonymous with old age. Some like Parmanand have found their own solution-five servants visiting him at different times of the day. He tries to find comfort in the buzz surrounding their going and coming.

Mrs. Basu has moved to a senior citizens home as have the Mongias. Happiness though seems to be elusive. For theirs is a lonely existence from which there is no escape. They have accepted the fact that death will be there release-but he hurt sometimes boils over…….

Where do I go from here?

Produced by Help Age India
Directed by-Yasmin Kidwai