Peepli Live

Director: Anusha Rizvi

Staring: Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghuvir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffar, Malaika Shenoy, Vishal Sharma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sitaram Panchal, Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Bashir

It appears a scene straight out of an Indian version of Yes Minister. The agricultural minister (Naseeruddin Shah) in the room is one of those suave, telegenic politician faces we’re used to watching endlessly gab on late night news debates. His young colleague, a bureaucrat, is quick to figure the embarrassing enormity of a small situation at hand: it’s the story of one farmer attempting suicide that every news channel has played up across networks. The minister, forced to intervene, asks for that farmer to be passed on an Indira Awas, or a 'Jawahar Rozgar’, or an ‘Annapoorna’…. Naah! Each of those government grants, the IAS officer tells him, concern the homeless, the unemployed, the starving… He says, “Central government schemes don't cover farmers who are still alive. They only cover those dead!” Earlier, when the local MLA had heard of the same story building up into something big, he’d ordered his minions to deliver to the dying man’s house a “Lal Bahadur”. It means in simple English, a tube-well.

Peepli LiveJawahar, Indira, Lal Bahadur, these are of course gift vouchers for India’s political class that counts its personal worth in public patronage, not public service. Everybody rightly loves a good drought. One, obscure Natha, by the way, is that John Doe, non-hero Hiralal, the farmer under fatal debt. His village in fictional Mukhya Pradesh makes for thousands of such across India where life’s cheap; time’s still; air, inescapably dull. It’s the sort of place where people simply live off the motto, ‘I am, where I am’; suitably divide the day between ganja, other idleness, and I guess, the wait for the monsoons. Life reveals itself to them completely, for good, better or worse. The acceptance is complete. Natha’s eyes, already dead, show no signs of curiosity.

The firm test of a film set around the everyman is when you just can’t tell if those before you on screen aren’t the people they’re meant to be. Lovers of Italian neo-realism, for instance, were deeply upset to learn that the cast of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali had actually comprised auditioned performers. Like that dying old woman in Pather Panchali, the dowdy village grandmother in this film almost jolts you up for how ‘unreally’ real she is. I’m absolutely certain you’ve met the numbed Natha before.

His ecstatic brother (Raghuveer Yadav, one of India’s most under-rated actors) tells him: “Na marneka hand-pump, marneka soch! (Hand-pump for staying alive, imagine gifts of death!).” The brothers have reasons to feel lucky. They’re currently under national spotlight. Television only goes where some research or ratings point them to, news merely being a function of the lowest common denominator’s pleasure. Peepli just happens to be a village that falls under a constituency up for a by-election. The opposition would like Natha dead. The government in power would prefer him alive. Both seek mileage from this rare event, while various TV stations and their ambitious reporters break each other’s heads over broken news. The satire is irresistible; the subtext, compelling. And yet neither shows itself up in any form of self-seriousness. The comic writing (Anusha Rizvi) is immaculately inspired.

India’s mass media, whether in the ridiculousness of Hindi television, or even excitable super-stars of English news, leave little scope for parody. The risk involves spoofing a spoof itself. Journalists, and why, their consumers as well, will instantly recognise dark truths in these intended laughs. Sometimes facts are almost as outrageous as limits of fiction. This makes the film then, at once the most intelligent and humorous Indian commentary in long. It is for sure the only true black comedy in Hindi to appear in 27 years. If you’re wondering what happened in 1983, well, two journalists and a Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Peepli’s right up there! I don’t know a better compliment to pay. I think you should certainly pay for a ticket.

It is a miracle that a script like "Peepli Live" has been turned into a movie and has got a commercial release. It is certainly surprising that a mainstream filmmaker like Aamir Khan decided to invest money in a movie that puts the spotlight on grave issues like the plight of Indian peasants. And, of course, kudos to journalist-turned-director Anusha Rizvi for penning down a story that focusses on rural India and its problems at a time when most Bollywood filmmakers are busy luring NRI audiences with mindlesss comedies and designer dramas.

According to a report, 200,000 farmers have ended their lives since 1997 and it is said that the rise in indebtedness is the root cause of farmer suicide. Anusha's directorial debut follows this theme in "Peepli Live" albeit as a satire. The film also takes a look at how media and politicians use such tragedies to up their TRPs and votebanks respectively. The real issue dies under their rat race.

Set in a small village, the film follows the plight of a farmer's family. Natha (Omkar Das) and Budhiya (Raghuvir Yadav) are brothers who had taken a loan against their land. Their only source of livelihood is put under the hammer when they fail to repay the money. They try to seek the help of a local politician, whose job is to serve the people. But he shoos them away saying the government gives compensation to the families of those farmers who commit suicide. Initially, the brothers ignore the suggestion, but Budiya convinces Natha to sacrifice his life for the sake of the family.

It's election time in the region and a local newspaper owner sends his reporter Rakesh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who otherwise doesn't want to budge from his comfort zone in search of stories to the village. Rakesh comes to know of Natha's decision to end his life and reports it. The news creates a sensation in the political arena and before it can be brushed under the carpet, somebody gives the lead of the Natha story to Nandita Malik (Malaika Shenoy), an elite English channel journalist. She grabs the opportunity and dashes off to Peepli as the news promises good TRPs.

As soon as her report is flashed comes an avalanche of reporters to the village and there begins a media circus as every journalist vies to sensationalise the issue. Rakesh, who actually filed the story, becomes a mere puppet in the hands of Nandita and when he tries to tell her about another farmer's death, she refuses to report it as she doesn't see it as a TRP booster for her channel.

The irony is that nobody be it reporters or politicians - tries to know why Natha decides to take his life. In fact, no one is interested in solving his problem as they have their own agendas. "Peepli Live" is a satire that shows the reality behind media houses, politicians, bureaucrats and their apathetic approach towards problems. But the script is written in a such a manner that it makes the audience laugh.

India promotes itself as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but the film shows the miserable condition of farmers who continue to end their lives after living in extreme poverty. A report says the highest level of farmer suicides has been reported in Vidarbha, Maharashtra reportedly 4,000 farmer suicides per year. In recent times, farmer suicides in Chhattisgarh have been hogging the limelight as well as in Punjab.

First time director Anusha has not only written a taut script but also executed the story effectively. It seems the film is her attempt to enlighten viewers about the social dilemma that our country is facing and her experience as a journalist is quite visible in her storytelling. The actors from Omkar Das, Raghuvir and Shalini Vatsa as Natha's short tempered wife Dhania to Malaika Shenoy and Vishal Sharma are brilliant too.

If Omkar and Raghuvir bring forth the sufferings of farmers, Shalini, an M. Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, should be applauded for playing the role with such ease and perfection. Malaika and Vishal fit the bill of English and Hindi channel reporters respectively.

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Already doing the rounds of different international film festivals "Peepli Live", which releases Friday, explores the gap between rural and urban India. The movie has generated the right buzz courtesy its storyline and producer Aamir Khan's promotional expertise. Directed by debutante Anusha Rizvi, it is a satire on farmers' suicides and the subsequent media and political response in the country. The film doesn't boast of any big Bollywood names.

"It is a film on rural and urban divide. People like us who live in cities like Mumbai and Delhi should get to know a little about the realities of India. The film is based on that," Rizvi had told IANS. Added Aamir: "Many things that the film is showing are very crucial and it is similar to my thinking and sensibility."

Distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, this is the fourth film from Aamir Khan Productions Ltd. after "Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India" (2001), "Taare Zameen Par"(2007) and "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na"(2008). Known to lend his mind, body and soul to his ventures, the Bollywood perfectionist admits he's been losing sleep over the project. "As Aug 13 gets closer, the butterflies in my stomach are really beginning to flutter around. Have lost my appetite and my sleep. I'm really depending on you guys (audiences) this time round for support. This is an especially tough one with no big stars and a film based in a rural background," he wrote on his blog.

Filmed in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi, the movie revolves around two impoverished farmers Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav), who live in a village called Peepli. They are about to lose their land due to debts when an incompetent politician suggests they commit suicide to get government help. The news spreads and the media turns Natha into a celebrity.

Noteworthy is that according to government statistics cited in the film, 182,000 farmers took their own lives between 1997 and 2007. Many of the actors in the movie are tribals from the village of Bhadwai in Madhya Pradesh while other cast members are from late playwright Habib Tanvir's theatre troupe Naya Theatre. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffer, Vishal O. Sharma, Aamir Bashir, Sitaram Panchal and Yugal Kishore.

Also known for his promotional gimmicks, Aamir has taken the movie to different parts of the world through film festivals. It recently won the Best First Feature Film award at the 31st Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

"Peepli Live" also competed in the Sundance Film Festival, the first film from India to do so. The movie was also picked up by specialty German distribution company Rapid Eye Movies for a special screening at the Berlin International Film Festival. It recently had its Melbourne premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival MIFF 2010 too.

Fusion-rock band Indian Ocean mark their comeback to Bollywood after six years with their compositions "Darte ho" and "Desh mera". Aamir even broke into an impromptu gig with the band during the music launch of "Peepli Live" and took charge of the drums.