Radio Maska is owned and operated by audacious music nuts whose goal is to provide India with music satisfaction. Started by the three ambitious Indians with their brains, souls and hearts melt in music, Radio Maska aims at making internet radio available at every listener's desk
A film which lacks big names & bollywood characters how often succeeds to catch the eye of the audience?
But Peepli Live is an exception & the theater artist also proved their mantle. Know it’s a proven fact that even Aamir Khan’s name can work wonders… just kidding basically the story, acting and the perfection of the banner that has enlightened us yet again with a classic concept.
Raghubeer Yadav as Budhia is a character who is cunning & jugadu. Omkar Das Manikpuri as Natha is a simple, shy man around whom the story revolves. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Rakesh is a depiction of a young budding journalist who can’t differentiate between fact & fiction. Naseeruddin Shah as Agriculture Minister has done justice with his part. The two news anchors will make you feel like you are watching a realistic Indian news channels one Hindi & the other English (I don’t want to name them).
The premise of the film is extremely powerful, as it plays around, in a stark black comedy, the expected death of a poor farmer, Natha. But in spite of brilliant performances, sharp and intelligent lines, and a different, 'real', and believable setting, there seems to be something missing. And that 'something', in my opinion is the mantra all screen writing gurus insist on. I would name it: “Progress & Peace”.
After establishing the primary conflict of the film, the writer is supposed to take us on a journey. Not to a circus where we sit and wait for performers to exhibit their vibrant colours but to an active, involving journey of human emotions. Irwin Blacker brilliantly puts it as: "Plot is more than a pattern of events: it is the ordering of emotions." To invoke the desired emotional response, the writer has to establish a serious 'want' for the protagonist – what exactly is at stake; the higher the stake, better the chance for drama. But to actually achieve drama, the writer needs to elaborate and enhance the conflict. Create obstacles in the path of the protagonist who is striving to achieve his dramatic need. These obstacles, preferably as harsh as they could be, and the protagonist's efforts to overcome them is what makes drama affecting. His success or failure in doing so is hardly important. And this entire act of confrontation has been crafted with intelligence and an acute critical eye, making sure that each scene takes the story forwards – it progresses from one plot point to the other with a definitive sense of purpose, remembering that each tree is important without losing the idea of the forest.
Peepli Live' would work better in its repeat viewings, when you already know the story, its nature and limitations. It's then that the wonderful detailing and the 'moments' in its narration will make you smile. Its business story and importance, or the lack of it, in Hindi cinema history will always be worth discussing. But to understand the triumph of cinema, we need to keep these aside. The intent of a movie and the courage behind its making must be applauded if it deserves that. And after having done that justly, to really understand the cinematic achievement of it, the craft of the film should be analyzed. Perfection is not the prerequisite for great art, it is the stimulation that it provides to the audience is what matters. 'Peepli Live' does that, by not only making you think about the social issue it addresses but also, if you are interested, by inspiring you to diagnose the merits and demerits of its craft as a work of cinema. That, I believe, is enough of an accomplishment.
And don’t forget to miss the hidden sarcasm about our Hindi media & their reporting style. As for the ending is concerned I feel the last scene should have been interchanged with the second last one & it would have delivered a heavy punch. If you can’t get it go and watch it LIVE..!
No comments:
Post a Comment