Firstly, I think the title is a
tad bit misleading. This is a movie about an experience in the life of a
protagonist (male, urban, western-educated, upper caste, privileged++). The
situation bringing about this experience arises out of the atrocities faced by
the Dalits. Article 15 and Dalit struggle can be replaced by Art 21 and Tribal
Rights, with mutatis mutandis and the core story would remain the same. However,
it is very difficult to replace the protagonist. His privileges put him way
above these experiences. I keep saying 'His' privileges but to pre-empt any
comments of those nature, I realize those are the same ones I enjoy.
Hence though it may suffer from
the Bramhin saviour complex from some perspectives, I would think that if it
was Dalit's or Tribal's story, it would be very different and not this Khurana
Inspector's story. Of course, a story can be written appropriately. And this
has that taint. So perhaps this story is mistitled... Call it "IPS Officer
Ayan Ranjan"?
Of course I think one crucial mistake this vehicle of Art 15 does, if not purposefully then by choice of setting, is that it relegates caste struggles to rural India. Urban settings are not devoid of caste discrimination. Just that they wear a mask of 'class' division and discrimination. And the privileged like to fool themselves that this mask is the true face, as if the caste history behind this mask did not matter.
On that note, there is a small instance where they show the sewage worker and Mr. Ranjan gives a short lecture on how we choose to ignore their deaths. But it is too little. Point to note, the actor who enters the drain is an actual sewage worker.
Also, what the unique setting
gave us: that short scene where he asks everyone their caste, I do not think
that can be so easily replicated in an urban setting.
//Aside rant: I would sincerely ask people who stay in societies with fucking separate lifts for maids and service people to fucking examine what they are endorsing.//
If you are still with me, take a pause, and comment any outrage you have before continuing as the rest of this write-up may not be as controversial and you may tone down your emotion/forget that angry comment by the end of it. That would be a great disservice to social media.
Three things need to be called
out for their perfection:
-Casting: All the supporting cast deserves a standing ovation. They have played their parts exceedingly well. Truly. It is a pleasure to watch them all. Though I suspect a little brownface was involved.
-Cinematography and Production: Again, very beautiful, believable and authentic. There are certain scenes (especially those we presume will end in some scary shit, like the ones where he searches in the abandoned slaughterhouse or in the forest at the end). These are done in a slightly different manner, reminiscent of some horror film. Perfect.
-Direction: Whatever the writers did wish to be shown on screen, I think the director did a good job. There are a few patchy instances which I have tried to address several paras below. I mention a world-famous artist there. Do read on to know who he is.
The huge perfect twist which I did not expect was Bhramadatt bring complicit and shooting the fugitive. Like, everyone knows he is corrupt, everyone knows he's in league with the 'villain'. But this random shooting? <3
Also, the internal struggle shown by the Dalits who have fought to progress 'up' the social hierarchy for a better life in terms of employment, in still trying to not disrupt the status quo and 'betraying' their compatriots by being a part of state machinery is shown nicely. The scene where Jatav slaps Bramhadutt is very cathartic.
There was nice scene too, where
while talking on the phone, our hero sits on the bench and the man sitting
beside him quietly gets up and stands, hero being completely oblivious.
More screen time and story development was in order for mainstream politics. The extremist Dalit leader and the Mahantji's faux political alliance were good strong storylines.
Dalit poetry, Ambedkarite philosophy and truths are definitely eye-opening. But a few dialogic mentions do nobody justice. Literally.
"The food and utensils were
brought by the Mahant." Nice line. (Yogi Adityanath was thanked in the
opening credits!).
These are some nice alternative dispute resolution and social change
mechanisms. Their interaction could have been explored. But then time is
limited.
A huge negative is the random
insertion of patriotic songs which boom out jarringly at climatic moments. Like
seriously? Such jingoistic music was completely misplaced. Ruined the entire
mood. Yuck.
There was this random scene where Khurana's love interest Varyses into the village. Like out of nowhere. I think her character was unnecessary from the beginning. A parental foil/best friend ideological opponent would have served just fine. But her unnecessary teleportation for no ostensible reason pissed me of. If the only reason she serves later is to comfort the sister of the rapist constable, then that scene could have been better written and made more sense and been more sensitive if our inspector did something logical. He could have just called her himself saying that he would prefer a woman to explain what that little girl's brother did (if that does need to be told) and comfort her.
The 'fuck' scene died in the
second instance due to over-explanation. The first time it was hilarious.
I had the pleasure of watching this movie with the world renowned artist and illustrator Debangshu Moulik. Two pertinent points were brought up in the post-picture discussion.
1. There were too many threads, many resolved improperly. This is true. Part of the discussion is relegated to Pertinent Point 2. But anyway, I think here a tinge of thought which the filmmakers blundered into was "we need to show all the aspects and the layered analysis which we did." This thought, if it did occur, can be assumed to be premised in two bases:
a. “We put in a lot of effort and that needs to be shown.” I am all for this one because though it does compromise on the overall integrity of the film, an artist satiating his sweat is as much important as catering to his creativity.
b. “To blunt the harshest of the criticism, we need to show various angles have been addressed.” This: meh. No such thing as bad publicity. Today, controversy and criticism are but bandwagons attached to marketing budgets.
Whereas for Debangshu, many
threads felt incomplete, I would say that though the threads feel incomplete,
technically most get resolved. But some of them do feel like sadallela
Laxminarayan Chiwda. Taste is there, but the lack of crispiness takes away the
enjoyment. The multiple threads include:
(i) Find X: Solved.
(ii) #JusticeForYZ: Convicted.
(iii) Krantikari Extremist: Dead. Could have been elaborated upon.
(iv) Mahantji's Mamla: Elected, Divisions Resurface. More screen time perhaps?
(v) Hero's Quest to become Hero: Achievement Unlocked
(vi) Jatav's Fence: He finally chooses a side.
2. He would have preferred it to be a much longer TV miniseries, where everything could be discussed/explored/given justice. He felt it was rushed. I remember the same feeling I had had when I saw Manto. There is merit in this to the extent from the point of it being a layered story to tell, and hence it needs an effective script.
But, it was a movie, and as a movie, they tried to show as much of every aspect they could. Any longer and it would not have been a time-constrained project.
Also, on another note, have we become so used to seeing a top-notch Hindi/Bollywood/Indian TV series, and even non-Indian TV series, that we have begun expecting them so, changing what we expect from "screen entertainment"?
Saw the movie at Pavilion. Have I mentioned its fucked-up internal design?
Rating: 4 Beards/5.
Special credits to Ishan Tuljapurkar for rain-checking in July.
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