By Dr. Asma (Dalal) Sayed

Indian Cinema is a complex mix of films made in a variety of languages, but is largely dominated by the films in Hindi/Urdu. The Hindi film industry housed in Mumbai has given Indian cinema its distinct identity both in India and abroad. Churning out hundreds of films a year, the industry is mostly known for its commercial or popular cinema; however, the lesser known world of what has been termed as “art films,” “New wave films,” “parallel films,” or “progressive films” has existed for a long time. So today, while on one hand Munnis (film – “Dabangg”) and Sheelas (film – “Tees Maar Khan”) dance to the tunes of item songs in popular films, there is the re-emergence of new parallel cinema, which strives to present the socio-cultural realities of the nation. “Peepli [Live”] and “Dhobi Ghat,” both produced by Aamir Khan Productions, are additions to this new upsurge of progressive or art cinema in India. The films directed by new and upcoming female directors, Anusha Rizvi and Kiran Rao respectively have given a new life to art cinema in India.

Peepli [Live] and Dhobi Ghat:

If you haven’t laughed to your heart’s content in a long time, you need to watch this film. Anusha Rizvi’s directorial debut, “Peepli [Live]” (co-directed by Mahmood Farooqi) diminishes the serious subject of farmer suicides to a ridiculous level, in order to provide a commentary on the lethargy of the government, the media, and the public at large. Those who have read Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” in which he suggests that the poor Irish sell their children to the wealthy in order to fix their economic woes, will see the parallels and recognize the film as a hilarious satire.

The film, which was India’s official entry into the Academy Awards, is set in the fictional village of Peepli, and revolves mainly around two farmer brothers Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghuvir Yadav), who unable to pay back the bank loan, risk losing their land, and thus seek help from the local politician. The politician inadvertently suggests that they consider committing suicide as the government has been compensating families of farmers who give up their lives. The two brothers start considering the suggestion seriously, and debate who will give up the life, and decide that Natha will sacrifice his life for the sake of his land and family. A later conversation between the two is heard by a local journalist, Rakesh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who writes the feature in a local newspaper.

What follows is the light-hearted representation of the plight of poor farmers in India, as Natha’s story escalates and a media circus follows with many TV crews descending on the village to capture each and every moment of the climax leading to Natha’s possible death. Given that local by-elections are round the corner, the whole issue also becomes charged, as various political parties try to leverage Natha’s story to their own advantage. As Aamir Khan, who is the co-producer of the film alongside Kiran Rao, says in one of the interviews about the film, “Peepli [Live]” is a film about how the administration reacts, and how a civic society and media respond to the very serious issue of farmer suicides, and it is a “satire about how we are as a society”, as very few people are actually bothered about the issue at hand. As the film ends and all the politicians and journalists leave Peepli, nothing about the lives of people in the village has changed.

Some of the most amusing moments of the film lay in the journalists reporting on whatever aspect of Natha’s story they can lay their hands on: there is a detailed analysis of a survey conducted after Natha went missing, and in a breakdown of the responses, certain percentage of the people have expressed their fear that America may be responsible for the disappearance of Natha. At yet another comical moment, journalists analyze the excrement of Natha from various perspectives. It is such brilliant touches of satire that not only evoke laughter, but deride the current world of multiple TV channels in India, the lack of journalistic integrity, and lower standards of investigative journalism.

Viewers who are not used to the rural rustic language of India, may have trouble catching all the words and the ensuing humour, but should still be able to enjoy the comedy of the movie, as they will appreciate the portrayal of the underlying serious issues that ravage the country today, as many farmers lose their land, and commit suicides on a daily basis.

Dhobi Ghat/ Mumbai Dairies

Arguably, Mumbai, the city, is the protagonist of the film “Dhobi Ghat” (also known as “Mumbai Dairies”),  written and directed by Kiran Rao, who is also the wife of the much-loved actor Aamir Khan. Filmed against the backdrop of Mumbai’s traffic infused, poverty stricken, gang-infiltrated, noisy and vibrant streets, and the beauty and brutality of bountiful rain, the film reminds of various ways in which Mumbai has been represented in Hindi cinema. In fact, many film makers have played with the representation of the city either in songs or films at large; whether it is Johny Walker singing “yeh he bumbai meri jhaan,” in “CID”, or Mira Nair showing the red light district of Mumbai in “Salaam Bombay” or the recent “Once Upon a Time” showcasing the Mumbai underworld – filmmakers have shown the good and bad of Mumbai. But Mumbai is a dense city, and as such in “Dhobi Ghat” Kiran Rao tries to capture some of its intricacies. Focusing on four characters, namely, Arun (Aamir Khan), Shai (Monica Dogra), Munna (Prateik), and Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra), and using multifarious mediums of photography, videography, and painting, Rao carves a dense story that has the viewers glued to their seats.

As the narrative moves back and forth between the past and the present, the film weaves a net of stories, and the destinies of the four characters come together, quite accidently, in Mumbai. Arun is a painter for whom city is the inspiration; he uses his canvas to depict various faces of the city life. Mumbai, as he says, is “his muse, his whore, and his beloved.” Shai is an investment banker from New York who is on sabbatical, and is visiting Mumbai for research, and is exploring her love of photography. Munna, a dhobi (launderer) by profession, makes ends meet by working at various jobs including laundering, killing rats at night, and prostituting, while also aspiring to become a movie star. Yasmin is a Muslim girl from Uttar Pradesh who has moved to Mumbai after an arranged marriage; Yasmin lived in the apartment which Arun now rents. Arun finds some video cassettes in a closet when he moves into the apartment. The film moves forward as Arun watches the videos, which are in fact, “letters” narrated by Yasmin on her new video camera, for her brother, and which give Arun and us, the audience, a glimpse not only into the life of Yasmin, but also of Mumbai. Arun and Shai’s one-night stands get complicated after the two argue the following morning. Munna, who washes clothes of both Arun and Shai, develops a crush for Shai, but his lower class status doesn’t allow him to express his feelings. As paths of these characters criss-cross, we see the complicated, yet very real, world of Mumbai residents come together. The beauty of the film is in its minimalism. Very few words are exchanged, and yet a lot is conveyed; the underlying silence is extremely eloquent. All four characters while surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Mumbai are lonely in different ways, and even as the audience gets to know them fairly, some mystery surrounds them.

A certain voyeuristic gaze is apparent throughout the film. Shai at one point in the film clicks pictures of Arun, unbeknownst to him. Arun’s watching Yasmin’s cassettes also has tones of glimpsing into other person’s life without her being aware of it. Munna, gazing at dozing Shai, and wanting to kiss her (but doesn’t), the old woman living next door to Arun, who continually watches all the movements around the apartment but does not say a single word in the film - all these scenes showcase a level of emotional density of humans, and make a statement on the at times, unspoken, unheard, and yet understood beauty and subtlety of language.

The ‘English version’ of the film is about 40% in English; however, there is the Hindi version as well, in which all the dialogues have been dubbed in Hindi. This film is certainly not for an average Bollywood watcher, looking for a few dance sequences, item songs, and action. But if you love Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, and the lot, and if you can decipher the inherent silence in the film, combined with the beautiful imagery of the city, and if you are looking for an experience different from the ‘masala film’, this film is certainly for you. Music by Oscar winning Gustavo Santaolalla, and performances of the new face Prateik, and the Shaa’ir+Func famed Monica Dogra are praiseworthy. Aamir Khan is, of course, a pleasure to watch.

Author Bio:
Asma (Dalal) Sayed holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta in Canada. She teaches at the University of Alberta, Grant MacEwan University as well as Athabasca University. Asma instructs courses in various areas including popular literature and culture, media studies, and women’s studies. Having been raised in India on a staple diet of literature and films, Asma is particularly interested in the role of popular literature, language, and culture in the creation of diasporic identities. Her book World on a Maple Leaf: A Treasury of Canadian Multicultural Folktales has been published recently; she is currently working on her next book on the works of M.G. Vassanji. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it