{"id":29610,"date":"2025-07-29T09:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29610\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T09:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:12:08","slug":"child-trafficking-drama-dear-men-tackles-indias-darkest-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/29610\/","title":{"rendered":"Child Trafficking Drama ‘Dear Men’ Tackles India’s Darkest Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFilmmaker Keith Gomes is set to release \u201cDear Men<\/a>,\u201d a hard-hitting short film that confronts the harsh realities of child trafficking<\/a> in India<\/a>. The film, starring versatile actor Sayani Gupta, premieres July 30 on Gomes\u2019 YouTube channel to coincide with World Anti-Trafficking Day. A trailer has been unveiled. <\/p>\n

\n\tInspired by the true rescue story of social activist Dipesh Tank, who risked his life to save minor girls from trafficking, \u201cDear Men\u201d follows a rescue worker disguised as a filmmaker who infiltrates a lawless village on a secret mission. Tank, a Governor\u2019s Medal recipient, went undercover posing as a film director in Bihar to carry out the real-life operation that serves as the film\u2019s foundation.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe timing couldn\u2019t be more urgent. Some 44% of human trafficking victims in India were minors as of early 2024, with the states of Rajasthan and Bihar recording the highest number of child trafficking cases between 2018 and 2022, totaling 2,711 and 1,848 charge sheets respectively. An estimated 53% of trafficking victims are exploited in sexual slavery, with 1.2 million individuals trapped in forced prostitution.<\/p>\n

\n\tGomes, founder of Starfish Productions, has built a reputation for socially conscious storytelling through previous works including the Oscar-considered thriller \u201cShameless\u201d (2018) and the Amitabh Bachchan-endorsed \u201cDoobie\u201d (2020). His feature work includes directing the Himmesh Reshammiya vehicle \u201cBadass Ravikumar\u201d (2025) and co-writing the 2014 hit \u201cKick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDuring COVID-19, I was researching to make a documentary, then I heard of Dipesh Tank\u2019s rescue operation and knew instantly that I wanted to make this film, but it had to be done with honesty, restraint and respect,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cWe shot the climax of \u2018Dear Men\u2019 making it feel like a first hand experience. Everything was grounded, and natural, because I didn\u2019t want to impose cinema on reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Gupta, the role presented unique challenges in portraying a character inspired by Tank\u2019s courage. \u201cWhen Keith first spoke to me about \u2018Dear Men,\u2019 I didn\u2019t know how to place myself in the story. I was portraying a character inspired by a man \u2013 Dipesh \u2013 whose courage was so instinctive, it didn\u2019t come from a place of empathy,\u201d she explained. \u201cThere\u2019s a loneliness to Dipesh\u2019s work, a moral clarity that most people avoid because it\u2019s too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTank himself reflected on seeing his story adapted for the screen: \u201cWatching \u2018Dear Men\u2019 shook me in ways I didn\u2019t expect. It\u2019s not a polished version of the story. It\u2019s raw, intimate, close to the bone. Keith didn\u2019t try to dramatize what happened and that takes sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production brings together an international creative team, with Hollywood composer Alex Somers, known for his work on \u201cCaptain Fantastic,\u201d \u201cCauseway,\u201d and the Oscar-nominated \u201cNickel Boys,\u201d providing the score. Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty and Vijay Kumar handle sound design, while action choreographer Stefan Richter, whose credits include \u201cKick,\u201d \u201cUri,\u201d and \u201cBarbarians,\u201d stages the film\u2019s high-stakes sequences.<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by Mayukh Ray, Rahul Vishwakarma, Zaman Habib and Sandeep Kamal, \u201cDear Men\u201d represents Gomes\u2019 continued commitment to cinema that confronts uncomfortable truths. \u201cThe greatest victory would be if this film lead to a conversation and the anti-trafficking bill is approved in parliament,\u201d the director said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film premieres free on Keith Gomes\u2019 YouTube channel on July 30, World Anti-Trafficking Day.<\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the trailer here:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Filmmaker Keith Gomes is set to release \u201cDear Men,\u201d a hard-hitting short film that confronts the harsh realities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,28176,28177,134,1209,344],"class_list":["post-29610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-child-trafficking","tag-dear-men","tag-entertainment","tag-india","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}