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At first it can seem utterly haphazard, but there is clear purpose in the seemingly chaotic activity: get thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, clothes washed, dried and ironed every day. But it takes a film to turn this chain of hectic activities into a hypnotic sequence.

Mumbai’s 140-year-old dhobi ghat – where washermen converge to do their business – located in Mahalaxmi has some 7,000 people making a living from washing (not to mention dyeing and bleaching) the clothes that people wear every day. Despite the advent of washing machines and even laundromats, the estimated annual turnover, according to the The Times of India, is about Rs 100 crore.

Filmmaker Chinmay Raut captures the daily routine of the washermen, which involves handling clothes and linen from homes, hotels and hospitals across the city. There’s magic even in the mundane, with imaginative shots and smooth editing. And, of course, there’s always slo-mo.