Original subtitles

When other birds fly, their effort shows.

But the kite swims.

We'd look up through the hole in the tarpaulin.

At the lazy dot-in-the-sky.

Did you just get here?

Throat feels like charcoal.

This late?

Funding proposal and website had to be finished.

Let me see.

Did you hear the talk of a possible war? A nuclear war.

Yeah, right! A nuclear war. Where we all perish.

All nonsense!

Where did you hear about this "nuclear war"?

I read it somewhere.

- Where? - On social media.

Social media, really?

India and Pakistan. What if Pakistan drops a nuclear bomb?

- They have one. - As if nuclear bombs are child's play.

It's not like tossing a firecracker, is it?

Hold it straight.

What'll happen to the birds if there's a nuclear war?

We'll all die. Where will they go?

They'll also die. When the migratory kites come...

Gosh, they'll find so much food here.

Will they eat us also?

They'll eat bodies, they don't care if it's human or animal.

They just want to eat.

- Our bodies will be scattered all over. - They won't migrate immediately.

There'll be so much radiation at first. But won't our bodies have rotted by then.

It's not like a nuclear bomb explodes and then all goes back to normal.

- The radiation stays for years. - Wait, won't the birds also get infected?

Of course.

Strike!

Got you! I pointed perfectly!

Where'd the bullet go?

Where?! Where's the bullet?

We don't want any harm to any public property.

Please be orderly.

It took my glasses!

In its beak.

My glasses.

There it goes. It's gone.

The water's smelling again.

Why the glasses...

Get the next one.

Salik? The next one.

A nestling. The nestlings have started coming.

Baby season's about to begin.

Many more will come. Today's the 5th, right?

It'll get crazy soon.

How many infants so far? Five to six last week. Right? Nestlings?

Turn it.

It'll survive, right?

- It has MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). - We can fix that.

Let's see if it can stand.

- It can't. - Can't straighten its legs.

When we got our first kite... I'd stay up at nights staring at it.

It looked like a furious reptile from another planet.

It's said that feeding kites earns "sawab" (religious credit).

When they eat the meat you offer, they eat away your difficulties.

And their hunger is insatiable.

Our elders used to take us for "meat tossing."

We'd lie on the ground, watching the elegant curves in the sky.

The head would spin.

Have you ever felt vertigo looking into the sky?

We found our first injured kite as kids.

We took it to the bird hospital nearby.

But they returned it,

since it was a "non-vegetarian" bird.

We were teenage bodybuilders at the time.

That's how we came to know flesh, muscles and tendons.

We used to read Muscle Flex and figure how to bandage the kites.

With a soap dispenser business on the side,

we began saving kites in the garage.

The air's awful today.

- Is it (the air purifier) working? - It's at red.

It's over 700 today.

It's really bad for health.

Yes, that's why even more kites falling recently.

I was talking about Nannu.

Many kites falling!

The water's getting lower.

Is there enough water on Earth to submerge all land?

I doubt it. I don't think there's enough water.

That's why it's called "science fiction."

So much of science fiction is unscientific.

There's a kite there.

A fisherman told me there's a kite there.

Yes, many kites there, obviously.

- Its wing is cut. - It's wounded.

Let's get it. It'll die otherwise.

Okay, but let's get a boat. Why swim?

- Try calling a boatman! - No one'll come.

The current's too strong.

- Let's find one. There's one right there. - He won't budge.

He's busy fishing. You think he'll leave that?

Let's just come tomorrow morning.

It'll be dead by the morning.

Killed by dogs or mongooses.

- Think of your own safety. - We can do it.

I'm going. Are you coming or not?

Do what you want. I'm not going.

Let's go, Salik, forget Nadeem.

We'll need the tube.

It's getting cold now! The deeper you go, the colder.

Do you think there are animals inside?

Yes, there are crocodiles waiting for you.

There might be snakes.

So what's the target we set? Yes, straight there.

Gosh, the water's so cold here.

Let's get our bodies acclimatized to the cold first.

Dunk your head in.

- Feeling better? - Yes, you do it too.

Wait... I need a minute.

I'll go in bit by bit.

When the body cools down, it's easier to swim.

- Stop whining, just do it. - Yes... why's he coming towards us?

Probably telling us about the wounded kite.

- Hurry up! - I'm cold!

Okay, let's go. Damn, went in my ear.

- The second one, right? - Yes.

Salik, stay close to the tube. You're swimming away.

It's behind me, lost sight of it.

Pay attention, you idiot.

Now keep left. It'll be easier to get out.

Salik's going the wrong way again.

Salik, wrong direction. Stay with Saud.

Go towards Saud.

- Can't hear you! - Stay with the bloody tube!

Guys, just a bit more. The land's not far.

Just a bit further away.

Take it easy. Stay calm.

Can we stop for a bit?

I need to rest.

How much more?

You're halfway back.

I'm so tired! I can't swim anymore!

I'm so tired, hands barely moving.

- Can't swim anymore! - Saud, he's panicking.

I told you both to not do this.

Slowly, take it easy.

If we hadn't gone, the crows would've killed it.

Did you see how many there were?

They were circling over it.

This kite really tired us out today.

A "Snowy Owl" in Calcutta. Like the Harry Potter one.

Selling it for 50 million rupees ($680,000).

A Snowy Owl in Calcutta's humid climate?

That's not why the story is funny.

They have to finish 150 soap dispensers tonight.

They'll get it done.

See if there's any medicine left.

I think it's over, though.

Oh no!

Terrible timing!

Don't let the bleeding get worse.

It's quite bad.

Give me some light quickly.

Nadeem, point it here.

Salik, get the blood-clot medicine. The ampoule. Hurry.

I've been telling you for so long... Why don't we get an inverter.

The backup's fine, it just needs new batteries.

Be that as it may, get some emergency lights, at least.

One for here, one for the house.

- Abu (Father)! - Yes, love?

Come play with me.

Go upstairs, we'll go play later.

The power's gone, Daddy has to work.

It's lost a lot of blood.

Let's give it some fluids.

Why the hell is it always so hot in here?

- Too much blood... - This much should do for now...

Finally, back. Thank God.

Still can't believe my glasses are gone.

Will you stop about those stupid glasses!

Another blind one.

Look at the skin. The wound's old.

Remember that match? "Hell in a Cell." Mankind vs The Undertaker?

That was stunning.

Threw him from atop the cage. The cage broke.

Fell into the ring.

The whole ring broke!

Didn't he chokeslam him?

Never forget this moment!

This is a fight for peace and non-violence!

This is a fight for principles, against thoughtlessness!

This is a fight for empathy and unity!

The Constitution has been saved!

As Delhi's air changed,

so did its metabolism.

Songbirds sing at a higher pitch to communicate over traffic noise.

Lizards are growing new toes.

The kite is a traditional bird.

A kite rests, roosts, bathes,

and attacks in the same style, all its life.

Every kite has a code,

but code breaking is natural today.

Every life form adjusts to the city now.

Rats, pigs, frogs,

mosquitoes, turtles, insects,

cows and horses...

All improvise and adapt, to the city.

Catch that!

That's it! You're out.

- Is one-bounce one-hand out? - What the hell!

- That's rubbish. You're out. - Anyway, it was a no-ball.

It was perfectly fine!

This is the third time since morning you've lied.

It was obviously a no-ball.

- It wasn't. - You're cheating again.

- Look where your foot landed... - You're incorrigible.

You never care about our feelings.

Saud! Nadeem isn't giving us the bat. Keeps cheating.

Says he didn't see the ball. I'm sick of this behavior.

- Get us the bat somehow! - Don't worry, I'll get it.

Do you not have a conscience?

- Enough nonsense, bowl already. - Why are you bullying the boys?

I'm not, I've been honorable.

Just hand over the bat. We've lost count of his lies.

Fine, but then I'm bowling.

Oh, come on! This way, our turns will never come.

Yes, they will.

- What?! - You're out! One-bounce.

I just came, nobody told me the rules.

Under the controversial Citizenship Act,

people from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh...

will be accepted in India as refugees.

As long as they belong to any religion but one.

The one religion that has been left out is Islam.

The Act is thus being called unconstitutional by many.

As India's Constitution forbids religious discrimination.

Who knows, even spelling mistakes might cause big problems.

Like the name Mohammad spelled as M-O-H-D...

what if that causes document issues?

On dad's certificate, it's spelled as M-O-H-D.

On his high-school certificate.

- It's M-O-H-D? - Yes, Mohammad as M-O-H-D.

What if someone objects to that?

We'll play the Happy Birthday song if you finish eating.

So if they make you a refugee, where would you go?

Imagine, a spelling mistake making us refugees.

What'll you pick, Pakistan or Bangladesh?

Can't one choose where to go?

- Only if you go there on your own. - As in?

You'll have to go there before the government kicks you out.

So if the government throws us out, only these options? Nowhere else?

If the government throws you out, you have very little choice.

Pakistan will say prove that you're a Pakistani.

We have to get this sorted.

The sewage water comes in every monsoon.

It's getting too much for me.

Each time the car has to be moved, gutter water streams in.

It's too cumbersome, moving the slabs, cleaning constantly.

- We'll get it sorted. - I'm a bit sick of it.

Move aside.

Check the water temperature.

I don't get it, it says 1 2 3 4.

Salik belongs to the digital age,

he doesn't understand a mercury thermometer!

How you're cleaning it behind its ears...

reminds me of how mother used to bathe us.

Our foreign funding application has been rejected.

- What! Our foreign funding application? - Yes, the FCRA application.

But why?

They haven't given any reason.

What will we do now?

What we've always done. Get by somehow.

Can't we apply again?

Not for six months.

Then they'll take another six months to process it.

- So, a full year's gone? - Yes, a year's wait.

We'll need to manage domestic funding.

Some birds love experimenting.

With new behaviors, new objects.

Sometimes we'd find cigarette butts in the kite enclosures.

We realized later that the kites were using it as parasite repellent.

Evolution favors experimentation.

Today's urban kites are more innovative than rural kites

or even earlier generations of kites.

This is also a form of natural selection.

Humanity is now their natural environment.

You've been giving meat for our kites for so many years now.

But as you know, times are hard. We aren't getting donations.

We thought we'd ask for a bit more help.

- What happened to your eye? - Nothing, it's just a minor allergy.

- Would you like some tea or coffee? - No, thanks so much.

I've always admired your work, it's noble. But times are tough for us too.

Meat's expensive right now. I'm already helping as much as I can.

And I'll keep doing it.

But I can't lower the price any further.

But don't get me wrong, your work is truly noble.

- So few kites today? - There'll be more in the evening.

All of Delhi's waste comes here.

The whole sky gets covered.

This landfill must be the biggest in the world, right?

Possibly.

So, if one kite has 50-60 grams a day...

- There must be... 10,000 kites here? - More than that.

How much waste do you think they eat in a day?

- They must clean up 5-6 tons. - 500 kilos.

In 10 days... 5 tons.

- How much would they eat in a month? - In a month, they'd eat... 15 tons.

So...

without the kites, the garbage mountain would be sky-high.

Yes but, before them, there were vultures.

Since they've gone, the kites have taken their place.

Nature will always find a way to absorb waste.

Think of the city as a stomach...

and the kites...

are like the microbiome of a gut.

They eat away our filth.

Hurry, it's melting.

Fill this drum up first.

Should I put all the meat directly in the drums?

Fill the drums quickly so the meat thaws.

Why do we always do this when it's scorching hot?

It has to be done now. No food left for the kites.

Why don't you plan ahead and get the meat before it runs out?

We always end up mincing at the last minute.

Should I empty out this drum, Nadeem?

What happened to this now?

Get this machine fixed, man.

I can't afford to waste so much time on this.

I have two proposals to work on...

And I get stuck with this. Check the power cable.

Show this to a mechanic quickly.

Yes, its plug is shorting.

Saud, if we play dead inside the cage, will the kites try to eat us?

Go, try lying down.

You'll find out for yourself.

I don't think they'll eat me...

The truth is, cruelty is often natural.

Humans often forget they're also pieces of meat.

What the hell!

What on earth is wrong with this?!

What are you screaming at me for?

Why don't you just get it fixed. We've been stuck with this junk for ages.

How long will we go on like this?

What do you want me to do? You go get it fixed.

- We keep wasting time. - If I can't get it fixed, then you do it.

Don't I have important things to do.

- Why should I waste time on this? - Why should I do everything?

I treat the birds, I oversee the workshop.

Stop saying you do everything. Just fucking stop it.

What are you pointing your finger for! You're not doing me any favors.

I also work all the time, like you.

Everyone sees your work, but nobody sees mine.

Isn't all my work important?

What about my work? That's not valuable.

Salik! Fix this shit quickly!

It's said that while performing classical music,

if one truly sings a raga well,

one experiences a kind of fleeting "bliss."

This bliss can't be possessed or captured.

For a brief moment, you just touch it...

Saud can touch a similar relief when he's with kites.

I'm different. I want something more.

What we've managed in the last 20 years is like a miracle.

I've devoted my entire life to this.

But this doesn't feel enough to me.

As a child, I loved astronomy, geology...

Darwin and Newton used to be my heroes.

Now I'm on Excel sheets all day.

Things are getting from bad to worse here.

Birds are plummeting from the sky.

Delhi is gaping wound. And we are a tiny Band-Aid on it.

I want to see new places, learn new things.

Go abroad, experience a new life.

But going abroad is...

Thing is, I feel trapped here.

But Saud and my bond is... uncommonly strong.

Once, I asked him what he would do if I died...

He said he'd shut it down.

If I die, I'll look back

and see my life devoted to our Wildlife Rescue.

But...

As a child, I'd say I want to be a bird.

How would my beak, talons, wings and call be.

And what the aerial view of life would feel like, as I hovered.

It felt like... how boring it must be to just stay human.

No matter how much you care for an animal, love it,

you can never claim that you understand it.

Man is the loneliest animal.

Trapped by speciestic difference. It's like a jail.

Our fights...

don't think they're because of petty financial reasons...

or that it's an ego thing, or an emotional issue.

The real reason's up here.

What's happening with the birds, the air, the sky.

Our fights are just a symptom,

of something much larger.

Spotted owlet.

We came to animals and science...

through our late mom's fables about ghosts and holy spirits.

The "cat-saint," "vulture shrine,"

spirits that appeared as snakes and insects.

One shouldn't differentiate

between all that breathes.

Trees, fungus, or vegetation,

natural and supernatural world were mixed for her.

During her chemotherapy,

she'd save the hair she shed

in a newspaper.

I'll tell Nannu to bury it with me,

along with the feather from the last kite I treat.

Come quickly, Saud! These kites are terrorizing us.

They are attacking me, my brother, everyone.

Where?

Over there, next lane.

- Do they nest near your roof? - Yes.

Be careful! Take cover, get under the shed.

Whenever I come up, I have to hide under the shed.

The male and the female both attack. One is sitting on this roof, one on that.

- There's the nest. - Yes, over there.

- They're tiny. Only a week old. - You can see them?

Yes, there are two of them.

No wonder they're attacking...

The parents become aggressive during this period.

- The nest is also so close... - Yes, it's too close.

Hear that threatening call? It's about to attack.

Both of them are ready to strike.

Okay, I'll share a trick with you. Just carry a stick or a pipe.

Hold it high above your head.

Then they won't attack.

You can also try wearing a helmet.

But I would say just look directly at them.

Kites tend to not attack if they see you seeing them.

After hatching, they leave the nest within two months.

Once the babies leave, the parents also abandon the nest.

Fantastic...

After that, you can just let the nest be.

Remember that guy, the reporter.

His story on us came in The New York Times.

That really got us a lot of attention.

Now we've got the funding approval, we can accept the money.

I've been so happy, even if my wife starts to pick a fight,

I just start singing, and smoothly avoid all fights.

The news just came yesterday.

It's melting...

Wait. Cheers to us!

Cheers to FCRA!

For our new logo, wouldn't green be better than blue?

Yeah, green's great too.

In fact, we should make an animated logo!

A kite flies in, perches on the logo.

Happily flaps its wings. That'll be cool.

Yes, let's do a 10 second animated intro.

Put it on our letterhead, visiting card.

But how can animation work on paper?

You're smart, I'm sure you'll find a way.

Maybe I'll find something on the Internet.

Let's get a conveyor belt.

The injured birds will roll in one by one.

Saud will fix them.

It'll be so cool.

Why stop there? Why not get a Mercedes ambulance.

Yes, let's.

It'll be a stylish ambulance...

We'll go for rescues and everyone will marvel!

If the ambulance's this fancy, imagine the hospital!

I can't believe it, we're finally making a hospital at home.

You can't quite tell the passage of time in this tiny basement.

After a few years here, I used to think that...

One day, I'd get a heart attack and fall on this damp floor, right here.

My chest would burst open, and kites would fly out, from inside.

The main cage will be here.

- Part-open from the top? - Half-open, yes.

So this will be the main cage.

The kites saved me more than I saved them.

This cage will be closed.

- Okay. - Closed from all around.

It's for kites that can fly. But need treatment for other illnesses.

Okay.

From a tiny room to the basement,

to a full hospital now.

If mom could see this...

It was her deepest wish.

That kite was about to snatch your glasses.

Lees McRae School sent a mail.

They've confirmed my admission.

Not much scholarship money, I'll have to figure something out.

- When did you get the mail? - This morning.

Today?

Got rejections from Yale and Columbia.

Cornell were interested. But they wanted only second year transfer students.

No freshmen.

I spoke to IBR (International Bird Rescue) for training.

They've invited me for a few weeks.

When will you have to leave?

As soon as possible.

Are you sure? We've just gotten foreign funding approval.

- That's why it's the perfect time. - Our dream hospital...

I'll be able to improve my skills, just as we build the new hospital.

That's why it's perfect timing.

- Let's go, the kite rescue. - Yes, let's.

Come, wash your hands.

You want to learn swimming, don't you? We'll both swim, okay.

Once the air-purifier's not at red, we'll go swim.

Keep your mouth closed.

Hasn't he been coughing a lot recently?

- You gave him the medicine? - Yeah.

He's developing a fever.

His cough's getting worse. Check his temperature?

I've given him the medicine.

The fever should break by tomorrow.

Aunt went today. There are 20-25 women at the protest now.

Some went with their kids.

I think I should also go...

Okay, if you feel like it.

Oh my God...

Will you come? At least for a while?

How can I? Too many kites coming in.

It's important to go, isn't it?

Of course it is.

But my work's important too, and I'm the only one who does it.

Hundreds of birds falling out of the sky every day.

What amazes me is that people go on as if everything's normal.

You should still visit once, I think.

This is the agenda.

This is the majority view. Who is that majority?

Just 40 percent of India, not 60 percent of India.

But majority doesn't mean you're always right. This much, you must allow.

A spark of hope has been lit.

That nobody can just come along and divide this country.

Democracy lives within us.

These grandmothers, children, women inspire us...

- How many more? - Many.

What's going on? How are there so many?

Don't ask. It's crazy.

- Are there even more? - Yes.

The season has only just begun...

- They've started coming already. - How many are there?

28.

28!?

Already...

I don't understand, the baby season hasn't even begun.

Nope, can't fix it.

The compressor's fine, but the fridge's not cooling.

But everything will rot then...

Yeah, the sun's strong today. It'll start rotting soon.

I'll tell Saud bhai... You don't say a word.

Looks okay.

I'll give it some water.

It's an egg indent...

It's a male, but he's been sitting on eggs to keep them warm.

He's undernourished, but okay otherwise.

Keep him in the main cage.

But release him as soon as possible.

His chicks will be waiting in the nest.

How many more?

Last one.

- I'll go bury them. - No, I'll come as well.

I'll do it, don't worry.

No, I'll come.

You're exhausted. Why are you acting crazy?

I'm being crazy?

Look at what's happening outside.

I'm coming! That's it.

You're back... How was it?

Another 50 women joined by the evening.

The fridge broke, have to get it fixed.

Salik told me.

You must be exhausted. Let me do the rest.

Get rest. I'll do this one.

Okay... this one just needs dressing.

I know.

Hello. Yes, Mom?

I've picked up today's birds, on my way to Saud's.

Really?

Where did you see this?

No, all seems normal here.

Okay.

Nadeem will be with me. We'll come back together.

Yes. All right. Please don't worry, I'll come back early.

Don't worry.

They sneaked in through the graveyard

and began looting our homes.

We're hiding, we can hear them outside...

Please don't cry, who all are there?

My children and my elderly parents...

As violence continues to spread in Northeast Delhi,

orders of "Shoot at Sight" have been issued in various parts.

Delhi's streets have borne witness to horrific levels of violence.

Yes, look at the street behind me. Devastation as far as the eye can see.

They've burnt all the shops down, burst gas cylinders.

Houses are burning...

Another day of violence in Delhi.

Just as things seemed to be improving, violence erupted in new locations.

Shots were fired, and the number of dead and injured keeps rising.

Delhi has become a war zone.

Groups of men are keeping guard outside their homes.

Patrolling outside their homes with sticks.

Hospitals are overflowing with patients.

There are 44 gunshot victims.

Reports claim the number is closer to 70.

On Tuesday, in one hospital alone,

there were 21 gunshot victims.

So you can imagine the scale of terror across all of Delhi.

The violence is happening

only two kilometers away from here.

Everyone here's patrolling like this.

Or sitting outside all night, like me.

Some have been patrolling, in their cars on the main road,

where they smashed some cars.

People are especially alert around there.

We heard of a threat that they will attack here as well.

So I sent the family off

to relatives in Old Delhi.

Religious riots aren't a new thing.

As kids, we'd be playing on the terrace,

and we'd find out that there were riots on the street.

But what's happening now is different.

Because this time, it's not just hatred.

There's widespread disgust about some people.

By calling people termites and rats, they've somehow made it about hygiene.

Just like the kite's different,

people are also treated differently.

Violence is always an act of communication.

Last week, North East Delhi

witnessed a horrifying spectacle

that laid bare our society's fissures.

We saw many lives destroyed.

Homes and hard-earned possessions were burnt.

How can anyone replace what was lost?

Our first bird, in our new cage.

Look, there it goes. Here.

What if all the kites we bring here fly out of the open cage?

That's the point of an open cage, isn't it?

It's flying so well.

Nadeem, still as excited about America?

Still leaving?

Yes, still leaving.

When I return, we'll do even better releases.

Use new techniques.

- Number 21 and 22. - This will take a while...

- 42... - 42.

94 are done.

93.

172, and over.

Hook it from the back.

Bolt it first for support.

Looking good, isn't it?

The cage looks so strange, empty.

The accounting work, our proposals and the website...

I can take care of all this from the U.S.

I'll have more spare time there.

Sure, in the beginning, until you get busy.

Exactly. For the first 15 days, I'll be totally free.

The board is finally up today.

The new clinic is also almost up and running...

But look at the appalling condition of our street.

- Can't even be called a street anymore. - Deteriorating each passing day.

With streets like these, it's going to be impossible for people to bring us birds.

You don't care for things

because they share the same country, religion or politics.

Life itself is kinship.

We're all a community of air.

That's why we can't abandon the birds.

More and more fall from the sky every day.

And Nannu finds more cigarette butts in the cage.

You see that tree in front of the building?

There's a red-tailed hawk on it, that looks just like our black kite.

I guess you can't see it. It's quite far.

How's everything at home?

Hope everything's okay.

It's been a while since I left.

Your video is freezing. Can you hear me?

Hello?

Can you hear me?

Revised and Synchronized by FAST TITLES MEDIA