India’s ‘Mountain Man’ inspires Bollywood biopic

The remarkable true story of an Indian man who spent 23 years chiselling a path through a mountain out of love for his late wife is coming to the big screen.

Dashrath Manjhi, an impoverished labourer from India’s lowest caste, embarked on the monumental task after his wife died in 1959 following an accident, because she did not receive medical attention in time.

Getting to the nearest town involved going around the mountain, a 55-kilometre journey, and Manjhi didn’t want other villagers to suffer the same fate.

Working day and night he chipped away at the mountain in Gehlour, in eastern Bihar state, using just a hammer and a chisel, reducing the distance to only 15 kilometres by cutting a direct path through rocks.

It took him until 1982 to finish the path, which is about 110 metres long and, in some places, more than nine metres wide.

Manjhi died from cancer of the gall bladder in 2007, aged 73, and was honoured with a state funeral in Bihar.

He once said that when he started cutting through the mountain, locals thought he was crazy, but later they changed their minds.

Even after he had finished, it took the local government another three decades to convert it into a tarred road. Bollywood star Nawazuddin Siddiqui, whose film credits include The Lunchbox, takes the title role in Manjhi – The Mountain Man. He plays Manjhi from a young man right through to his later years. Indian actress Radhika Apte plays his wife.

“The story is beautiful and compelling. He made the impossible possible and his work has helped thousands,” says Siddiqui.

“The most difficult aspect was to capture the madness. His work is extraordinary. He should be an inspiration and an icon for the youth.”

Bollywood filmmaker Ketan Mehta says his response was one of disbelief when he heard the story, and he knew he had to make a movie about it.

“People called him mad but how did he achieve it single-handedly?” says Metha. “I went there and saw the mountain and the path he had carved. It was inspiring.

"Manjhi – The Mountain Man is a film about the human spirit and a monument to love. Unfortunately, too often we realise the value of a person only after they die."

Raising funds for the production, convincing people to support the film and shooting it in remote parts of India were just a few of the challenges Mehta encountered, he said.

The film also faced controversy. In 2013, filmmaker Dhananjay Kapoor blocked its release, claiming that he had the rights to Manjhi’s story. However, a court dismissed the petition and ruled in favour of Mehta.

Manjhi's fame and the subsequent attention has also left members of his family disgruntled, according to a report in the Times of India newspaper.

It quoted a relative who complained that many officials had visited their home but had broken promises to help them out of poverty.

Mehta pieced his script together based on meetings with villagers and journalists, and from reading newspaper articles.

However, the director was forced to be a bit more creative when it came to portraying the details of Manjhi’s relationship with his wife.

“The facts are facts but little is known of the love story, which is where we have filled in the blanks,” he says.

• Manjhi - The Mountain Man is due for release in the UAE on September 10

Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now

There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:

1. Rising US interest rates

The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.

Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”

At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.

2. Stronger dollar

High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”

3. Global trade war

Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”

4. Eurozone uncertainty

Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”

The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”