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Home , Bapu (book), Gandhigiri, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Munna Bhai, Munna Bhai (film series)

Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______CINEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF GANDHIAN THOUGHTS: IN THE MOVIE LAGE RAHO AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TODAY

PRATAP BHARMAL RATAD KSKV KACHCHH UNIVERSITY BHUJ KACHCHH MO. 9773288387 EMAIL: [email protected] Abstract: Indian cinema is nowadays rapidly growing and developing industry by producing more and more movies each year in a number of languages all over and other countries as well. Movies in this rapidly changing era play an important role in betterment of society to live in. It reflects good thoughts in the lives of people. In this way, the present research paper is about representation of Gandhian thoughts in Indian cinema as whole and as particular. Gandhiji is known as Mahatma and . He led India to independence by non-violence and . He taught new ways of living life by using principles of good life to get Swaraja by . Many movies are made on so far by tracing the history of independence India. The purpose of the study is to find out Gandhian thoughts in Indian cinema which are still relevant in this fast moving era of science and technology. This paper is an attempt to evaluate the movie in the light of the concept of Gandhigiri which is reflected in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai and the implications after the release of the movie also will be take into consideration. To achieve the goal of the study, the research paper will go through the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai which was released in 2006, produced by . The present research paper is an attempt to explore Gandhian thoughts by promoting Indian cinema. In this movie Gandhian thoughts are presented in very good manners. The principles of living a good life and techniques to get independence are vividly represented by the actors of the movie. Therefore, the title of my research paper is given as cinematic representation of Gandhian thoughts in special relevance to Indian movie Lage raho munna Bhai and its implications today.

Keywords: Indian cinema, Gandhian thoughts, Swaraja, Ahimsa, Principles, truth, non- violence, Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______Introduction:

Gandhiji, was a great leader who led Indian Freedom struggle by satyagraha (peaceful ) and ahimsa (non-violence). He is known today by various names such as Mahatma, Bapu, etc. in India and all over the world. After 150 years of his death, the scenario of India is totally different now. New inventions in the field of science and technology lead us into the new world. But the principles and beliefs Gandhi used to believe are still useful in the day to day lives of people. In this paper Gandhi‟s thoughts which are reflected in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai, will be analyzed to the light of the concept of Gandhigiri and how this affected our society in India and US: implications after releasing the movie also will be evaluated. To achieve the aim of the study, several parameters are set i.e. the concept of (Gandhigiri), the principle of truth, the principle of non-violence (ahimsa), peaceful protest (satyagraha), its implications today. He was the man of will power and believed in non-violence and non-resistance. He wanted to free India from the British rule by change in the heart of the oppressors and without any harmful practices. Eventually, he was succeeded in it and India got her independence in 1947 by the leadership of Gandhi. Lage Raho Munna Bhai, a 2006 comedy movie directed by and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. This movie is taken as main source as far as Gandhian thoughts are concerned which are represented in this movie. Munna is main character in the movie starred by . There are other characters as well: Circuit (), Bapu (), Jhanvi (), Luckysingh () etc. The outline of the story of the movie is goes like this; Munna, an underworld don begins to like a radio jocky girl name Jhanvi. Both these characters are contradictory to each other whether it is their profession or their nature. As represented in the movie Munna has some feeling towards Jhanvi and to talk with her, he illegally wins the contest held by Jhanvi on Air on 2nd of which is celebrated as Gandhijayanti. Gradually Munna lies to Jhanvi for the sake of her love. At the contest on Gandhi, he pretends be a Professor of History with Gandhi as specialized field. Later he promises to Jhanvi that he would come to deliver a lecture on Gandhi in front of Jhanvi‟s „Second Inning House‟, a house for aged men deserted by their children. And to accomplish this, He goes to Granthalaya wherein all the books related to Gandhi are available and collects some information related to Gandhi‟s life Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______and thoughts. At this point of time his whole life going to be change soon. He reads books for nearly 3 days. As a result, he becomes a follower of Gandhism. He named it Gandhigiri in his own way which according to him is opposite of Dadagiri. Therefore, as time passes he tries to solve the prevalent questions related to current society i.e. dishonesty, corruption, astrology, horoscopy, protest, falsehood etc. When Luckysigh illegally grabbed Jhanvi‟s house, he against Luckysigh in front his house with his fellow members. He named it peaceful protest (satyagraha). At the end of the story all the problems are resolved by the concept of Gandhigiri and Munna. So the main parameters are given below in detail; on which the study is based.

The Concept of Gandhism (Gandhigiri):

In literal sense, Gandhigiri means Gandhism. The one who follows Gandhian beliefs and thoughts is called Gandhian. Primarily the principles of truth and non-violence are the parts of Gandhian belief system which will be discussed by detailed analysis later. Though Munna is an underworld don, an ardent follower of Gandhigiri. Even he invented the word Gandhigiri. According to him opposite of Dadagiri is Gandhigiri. The definition of Gandhism as Wikipaedia says,

Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision and the life work of Mohandas Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of , sometimes also called civil resistance. The two pillars of Gandhism are truth and non-violence. The term Gandhism also encompasses what Gandhi's ideas, words and actions mean to people around the world, and how they used them for guidance in building their own future. Gandhism also permeates into the realm of the individual human being, non-political and non-social. A Gandhian can mean either an individual who follows, or a specific philosophy which is attributed to, Gandhism. (Wikipedia)

After reading lots of books based on Gandhi‟s life and beliefs, he immediately became one of followers of his ideology and thoughts. As a result, he became a victim of hallucination. As soon as he started to read books based on Gandhi he begins to see an image of Gandhi in front of him. He lives in an illusion that Gandhi is talking to him and helping out to solve day Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______to day problems prevalent in the society. At the ending part of the movie, one of psychiatrics declares that Gandhi is no longer a living being among the society but in fact Munna sees his image because he has read a lot about him. So in the movie two main characters; Munna or Murali Prasad Sharma and Bapu represented the whole idea about the concept of Gandhigiri. Munna expanded the beliefs and thoughts in the society with the help of Circuit (Sharkeshwar), his sidekick and Jhanvi through radio. There is an incident when Munna and his team go to find a lawyer for the case of Second Inning House, he says about Gandhi and Gandhism. He says to one of lawyers that,

I've just met a lawyer. Lawyer asks who? Munna replies a great lawyer. Studied in London, practiced in South Africa. He said stop bully-ing. Start Gandhi...ing. He said, if your enemy swears at you, smile back at him. Listen to Nerdy boy! He also said, if someone hits you on one cheek, offer him the other. This will reduce hatred, and make him respect you! He also said, to win over your enemy, you don't need lawyers. (Scripts.com)

At the end of the movie when all the hurdles resolved by the concept of Gandhigiri, Bapu says, “3 bullets cannot kill my beliefs. Times will change, but...my thoughts will keep causing chemical cock-ups in some brains. The choice is yours! Live with my picture....or live by my principles”. (Scripts.com) This is how the basic principles of the Gandhigiri is presented to us in the form of movie are very interesting.

The principle of Truth:

Truth is one of the principles of Gandhi. He led India‟s freedom fight through non-violence and truth. Of many thoughts represented in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Truth is among the base principles of the Gandhian Philosophy. The representation of truth through the portrayal of Gandhi starred by Prabhavalkar and interaction between Munna and Gandhi‟s image present the whole idea of truth. There are some incidents when Gandhi‟s image as Munna sees from the beginning of the movie represents the principle of truth. When Munna lied to Jhanvi that he is a professor of History with Gandhi as a special subject, he never believed in the Gandhian thoughts and beliefs but later on as he reads books based on Gandhiji; he immediately becomes a follower of Gandhism. While he and Bapu was talking Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______about the truth and lay, Bapu says, “She loves the Professor you pretend to be. Not you. Tell her the truth tomorrow. If you keep lying, she will leave you one day. „If I tell her the truth, she will leave me tomorrow! You promised you would do one job for me? Give me any other job, Bapu. I can't do this‟. This is all I want. Live truthfully” (Scripts.com)

The principle of Non-violence (Ahimsa):

As it is described in above discussion related to Gandhism that truth and non-violence are major principles of the Gandhism. So here no need to talk about Gandhism. Let‟s come to the principle of Non-violence. Ahimsa is the core principle of Gandhian belief system. Therefore, Gandhi laid Indian freedom movements through non-violence. As in this movie too non- violence represented in a different way in daily lives of current society. How this concept non-violence is still useful in our day to day life is represented through the movie. It is mentioned above that Munna is a underworld gangster who at the beginning of the movie represented as don but after reading lots of books related to Gandhian way of life, he becomes totally different persona i.e. he changes his beliefs from Dadagiri into Gandhigiri. In the movie when Munna gets confused, he calls Bapu by singing the song „ragu pati ragav raja ram‟. And Gandhi‟s image appears in front of him. Munna asks about help. At that time Bapu says, “If you need to kidnap or whack someone, I can't help. I am rather weak in that department” (Scripts.com). One more incident when Bapu expresses about his principle of non-violence when because of some reasons Circuit was slapped by Munna though he felt regret. At this point Bapu suggests, “Slapping someone is easy. Apologising requires courage”.

Satyagraha:

Satyagraha is the term to which Gandhi genuinely was attached to it. There are a number of if we trace the history of Indian Independence. Though satyagraha‟s situation is different, the movie presents the full notion of satyagraha in modern sense. According to Wikiaepedia,

Satyagraha (Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह; : „truth‟, graha: „insistence‟ or „holding firmly to‟) or holding onto truth or truth force – is a particular form of nonviolent Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practices satyagraha is a satyagrahi. The term satyagraha was coined and developed by Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). He deployed satyagraha in the Indian independence movement and also during his earlier struggles in South Africa for Indian rights. (Scripts.com)

Whole team of the house called „Second Inning House‟ gathered to protest against Luckysingh as he illegally grabbed their house. They named it peaceful protest (satyagraha). They didn‟t want to harm anybody whether it was Luckysingh or his family members. Even they offered flowers to him by wishing „get well soon lucky‟. At the end of the movie, the problems resolved and satyagraha worked though situation is different, it is now modern society instead. Let‟s try to understand this by the interaction between Luckysigh and Satyagrahis when Munna offers some flowers,

Lucky says, „What's all this drama‟ Munna?‟ In reply Munna says, „It‟s called Peaceful protest‟. We won't fight with you. But we'll stand by your house in protest. Until you realize the folly of your ways. One of us will be standing here 24 hours. If one gets tired, another will take his place. We'll pray for your speedy recovery. Get well soon, Lucky. Take a blow, several blows to show that you will not strike back... It softens the enemy. His hatred for you will give way to respect! Show Lucky we will not hit back. Nor waver from our path. (Scripts.com)

When we feel that we have been wronged and we get annoyed and become aggressive but the best way to solve the problems; as Gandhi used to believe, is Satyagraha. Being thankful or remain calm to our enemies and let them see your perception.

Implications Today:

Nearly 58 years after Gandhi‟s death, had been passed when movie was released. And now when we are celebrating Gandhi‟s 150th birth anniversary, what implications Gandhigiri has brought in society are to be described in the last parameter of the study. The movie resulted change in the hearts of people in India and US.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai has had a strong cultural impact in India, popularizing Gandhism under Munna Bhai's notion of Gandhigiri. As noted by Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______critics, the film has „stirred the popular imagination‟, leading to a number of Gandhigiri protests in India and in the . Praised by the , , stating (using Gandhi's nickname, „Bapu‟ or father) that the film „captures Bapu's message about the power of truth and humanism. (New World Encyclopedia)

The film got several awards when people started to liking the movie. The movie was presented in manners that people easily got well acquainted with Gandhian way of life. The director of the movie expressed his views about the success of the movie. During a function when he received the 'CNN-IBN Indian of the Year' award in the field of entertainment, Hirani said,

I earlier thought cinema could not create social change. But after seeing the huge impact that the film has had on Indian society, I have realised I was wrong…..There was a belief that Gandhian ideology did not work. But in many parts of India, there has been a revival of Gandhian philosophy after the film's release…..I am still wondering why I got this award. I have only made a film which I believed in. (Oneindia)

In the US; green card seekers inspired by the movie, started satyagraha by giving flowers to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service Office‟s officials. As a result of it, on July 2017 announced publically that, “It will accept application from foreign professionals seeking permanent residency through an expedited process, reversing its earlier decision” (New World Encyclopedia). If we talk about Gandhigir‟s impact upon society after releasing the movie as far as India is concerned. When the movie released, it had been impacted various strata of society i.e. social, political etc. Farmers protested by giving flowers in the region of . Not only this but also the people who protested in , had been inspired by the concept of Gandhism in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai using roses as a means of peaceful protest. The students in Lucknow also inspired by the movie‟s representation of Gandhian thoughts. As a result, they planted trees and doing volunteer works as the basic necessities of good health on the earth. And at last but not the least; like Sahitya Manthan A Peer-Reviewed, Open Access e-journal ISSN: Website: http://www.sahityamanthan.in Year-1, Issue-2, Continuous Issue-2, July-August 2020 ______Munna in the movie, Mafia don Babloo Srivastava was also influenced by the movie giving roses as means of peace and love.

Conclusion:

To sum up, the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai presenting the concept of Gandhigiri, affected many lives in India and US as well. This research paper has gone through the movie and its script which is in English. The paper has described the four parameters which are set as far as present research is concerned. In order to achieve the aim of the study, these parameters have been taken with a view to develop an idea of Gandhigiri. In the beginning of the movie, when Munna tries to impress by pretending himself as a Professor of History with Gandhi as a specialized field. He goes to Gandhiji‟s museum wherein all the books related to Gandhiji are gathered: to collect some information about Gandhiji because he had promised Jhanvi to give a lecture on Gandhi in front of her „Second Inning House‟ members; a house for aged men deserted by their children. When he enters into the museum, he encounters with Harilal; a caretaker of the museum, gets surprised when Munna comes in the museum. So this is how the movie presented a clear reflection about Gandhian thoughts which are forgotten these days. All the parameters clearly show the importance of Gandhian ideology in our society which is now mostly relied on science and technology. The movies shows that if a man like gangstar or done can change himself than why we normal people can‟t change ourselves as we are not gangsters or don anymore. The principles of Gandhian ideology which movie has represented lead to change the society which is discussed in implications of Gandhigiri part of the paper.

Works Cited Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Dir. Rajkumar Hirani. Perf. Sanjay Dutt, et al. Prod. Vidhu Vinod

Chopra. Vinod Chopra Productions, 2006.

New World Encyclopedia. .

Oneindia. 7 Fabruary 2007. .

Scripts.com. Lage Raho Munna Bhai. 2019. 4 April 2019

.web.

Wikipedia. .