February 14 is celebrated the world over as St Valentine’s Day, underlining the bond of love between two individuals. But even as the celebrations get more and more commercialised with every passing year, one wonders if the day is another example of love’s labour lost. Shilpa Agrawal, a noted Psychologist and educationist from Gondia, is executive producer of documentary titled ‘The 14th of February and Beyond’. Utpal Kalal is director and producer of the film. Shilpa’s documentary was released recently and was appreciated at national and international-level. She says, “February has several ‘days’ that are celebrated with the undertones of romantic love. There is Valentine’s Day, Teddy Day, Chocolate Day, Rose Day and more. But do we really know what these days stand for? I was once offered a teddy bear soft toy by a child and when I asked him why he thought of taking the effort, he had no answer. Same is the case with Valentine’s Day. We are not serious about anything, not even love.”

 

“Being a psychologist I thought of various aspects of love or Valentine’s Day. Those aspects came up during my discussions with Kalal and this documentary took birth. It needed lot of research due to which it took 2.5 years to make,” told Agrawal. Meanwhile, there are different theories about Valentine’s Day. One says that during European wars when there was too much violence, people felt depressed and the concept of Valentine’s Day was introduced to create feeling of love. As one person in the documentary says, “The feeling of love is lacking everywhere. People love one another which has materialistic element that is why it suddenly becomes visible on February 14. We lack the sentiment of peace and togetherness.” Further, in teenage infatuation is often mistaken for love. Then at times there is competition among peers to be in a romantic relation.

 

At times shallow physical attractions are also given the name of love. As Dr Sudhir Bhave, noted Psychiatrist, rightly states in the documentary, “After a break-up, both parties who were in a romantic relationship are often overpowered by jealously. They are more interested in knowing who is the new ‘love’ in their former partner’s life. This is not love. Love should be magnanimous. Jealousy has no place in it.” The spurt of sentiments of love on one particular day that hinge precariously on the foundations of gifts and get-togethers, should be a matter of concern for any society. It is a feature length (1 hour) documentary film ''The 14th February & Beyond'' which investigates Valentine's Day. The film last month premiered at the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI GOA) and received heartening reception at the festival. The film was honoured with prestigious Indian Panorama at the 51st IFFI.

 

Earlier the film has travelled to more than 6 countries, have won 2 best film awards along with 10 official selections at the international festivals. The film is a first ever – and deepest look into Valentine’s Day that exposes the strange face of this global love fest and its impact on the mental health of our society. The film explores the origins of this famous holiday, and how it’s been twisted as a result of consumerism and commercially into a competition and self-esteem checklist. While disguised as a celebration of love, spanning days of gifts and adoration in some cultures, Valentines Day can actually often lead to some very dark memories, humiliation and rejection, and self-esteem crises for others.

 

The documentary film has comments by Vijay Phanshikar, Editor, The Hitavavada; Dr Sudhir Bhave, well-known Psychiatrist; Nityanand Misra, Finance Professional and Author; Rajiv Malhotra, Indian American Author; Shilpa Agrawal, Psychologist; Namita Singh, Activist, Software Engineer, MathWorks, Boston, USA; Manzita Vanjara, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gujarat; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti. The filmmakers through this film appeal the youth across the world, to not get swayed away by the shrewd manipulation of delicate human emotions by the business of love and use your conscience and strong sense of judgement before blindly falling prey to it. “I personally feel this documentary should be shown to school children, college-going youngsters. We will be meeting institution management, Principals once the corona things get streamlined. It may have the required impact, I hope,” said Shilpa Agrawal. The film can be watched for free on YouTube https://youtu.be/gyoQXGgzjaU It also can be watched simply by typing name ‘The 14th February and Beyond’