“Kaippuneeru” (The Bitter Drink)

The Bitter Drink is the second film in a series on environmental struggles in Kerala produced by Third Eye Communications.

The People of Plachimada, a sleepy hamlet in Kerala southern India, were excited when they came to know that the Global Giant Coca Cola is setting up a bottling plant in their village. The year was 2000.

But soon the People realised that the presence of the Multi National Company like Coca Cola has its own problems. The bottling plant guzzles 100’s of 1000’s of litres of ground water everyday. The neighboring wells have gone dry. The quality of the ground water has also changed. It has become unfit for use. Their agriculture has been affected by the changes in the water table and by the solid and toxic effluents from the plant. The year was 2002.

The People of Plachimada, a majority of them tribals, launched a struggle against the most powerful corporate company in the world, the Coca Cola. Their demand is to close down the plant. The Bitter Drink documents the formative days of this David and Goliath battle.

26 Mins, Produced in 2003.

• Editing & Direction: P Baburaj and C Saratchandran
• Camera: Kannan, Jain Joseph & Sarat
• Narration: Roshan Jacob

Festivals

• Asian Social Forum 2003 Hyderabad
• Kerala Social Forum 2003, Thrissur
• Vatavaran 2003
• Other worlds are Breathing WSF 2004, Mumbai
• Normale 2004, Germany
• Selected to The Competition section of MIFF but Withdrawn in protest against Censorship
• Films for Freedom-Vikalp 2004, Mumbai
• Wild Spaces 2005, Australia
• Beyond Borders India 2005
• celebrating resistances, 2005, New Delhi
• De Centrale - Agenda Maart - April 2005
• Globale 2006, Germany
• Solidarity Not Charity 2007, London

” It’s about shared anger and anguish. It’s also about the determination of the people of Plachimada to not give up in face of terrible odds.They have little support from mainstream political parties, the media rarely gives them any attention and even the labour unions aren’t too keen to take up their cause. But in P Baburaj and C Saratchandran, the film’s directors, they have ardent supporters. The Coke-hit villagers appear on screen to present their case.”

Give up, they shall not : Down to earth jan 31 2006