In the plaza in front of Bank of America's former world headquarters sits a cold, black granite, organ-like sculpture known as "the banker's heart". It's a resonant joke, speaking to the utter heartlessness of the global financial industry. This film presents a very different kind of banker with a very different heart. Bank manager J S Parthiban brings working capital and the discipline of saving to segments of the population in India's Tamil Nadu who ordinarily cannot take advantage of mainstream banking services and are therefore enslaved to the money lenders who exploit their poverty. Watch as he invests his heart and his bank's resources in the needs and ambitions of his extraordinary customer base.

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  • Viswa

    His key message, 'Banking is about people's aspirations.' Bankers and banking can kick-start many dreams and careers. Feel like walking up to Parthiban and hugging him. Best wishes to you all at Karmatube, to Parthiban and to his hard-working, aspiring clients.

  • Anne

    He knows how to approach people, slowly, in offering them support to change. He knows how to show them, and also we who view the film, our strengths and where we could go with it. He reminds us of our interdependence. And makes it easy to enjoy the fruits of our labors together. He knows that if any of us can help ourself and others, with gentleness and sincerity, to change positively how we view our lives and ourselves, then fear and violence can eventually fall away.

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  •  â€‹Read a 2009 interview Parthiban gave about his project in "The Guardian." 
  • Consider the financial services available to the poor (microfinance and loan sharking) and their complicated relationship.
  • Parthiban advises that it doesn't matter what our calling is; it is important that we apply ourselves to the common good. Take an inventory of your talents and think about how you can follow Parthiban's example.

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