‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man’- Shandar ! Zabardast ! Zindabaad

It is a shame that the prints of Manjhi – The Mountain man were leaked much before the theatre release of the film. One may argue that with rising costs of theatre tickets, pirated versions are the only option. But the least they could do is to wait for the release date to come. It takes a lot of hard work and heart burn to make a film like Manjhi. And somewhere this leak has humiliated years of labour.  Manjhi is not a movie with a humongous budget.  Today as the industry is trying to make a niche for Indie and small budget films; it is a shame that we do not have any laws to protect films like Manjhi.

When you know that the maker of Mirch Masala and Bhavni Bhavai is coming back with a new film, expectations are bound to sky rocket. And then you also have Anjum Rajabali associated with the project. Manjhi’s compelling cast and crew had taken the film to the next level even before its release.

I would bypass the plot details (as the leaks have already done enough damage to the film). Ketan Mehta effortlessly interconnects the social commentary with the story of Dashrath Manjhi. What makes Manjhi a more than a ‘one time watch’ is the way it tugs at your heartstrings. This author came out of the theatre with a feeling of guilt gnawing severely.

Even before Manjhi’s struggle starts, the writers take us to another world. And it is not underdeveloped or rotten because they take us back in time. The rot still exists. It is the darker sides of the nation that we conveniently hide . That bonded labour still exists; that untouchability still exists; is reason enough to hang our heads in shame.  One might argue that every nation has a dark past and present. But that is not even the point. The point is only we can better the state of our nation. What is the use of celebrating Indian origin CEOs taking the global stage by storm, or an Indian author grabbing an international prize if in some corner of the nation a man is still denied entry into a place of worship?

Timangshu Dhulia plays the role of the nasty upper caste Zamindar pretty well. The only problem is the duo of Dhulia and Pankaj Tripathi remind you too much of Gangs of Wasseypur.

Manjhi’s wife Phaguniya, played by Radhika Apte is probably the weakest link in the film.  She looks too perfect for a remote village belle (and that too pretty poor) of the 50’s. The song and dance sequences make it filmy and it would have been really perfect if these were not used at all. Manjhi is that kind of a film that would do great without any Bollywood tadka at all.

The filming Phaguniya’s death is a soul stirring moment. It takes a minute to remind us of the privileged lives many of us lead.  The time lapse and the string of events, Indira Gandhi’s election rally, famine, emergency and the rot in bureaucracy are interestingly woven into the screenplay.

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