sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bajirao Mastani, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Ketan Mehta, Radhika Apte

ISSN No. 0974-035X An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education Towards Excellence UGC-ACADEMIC STAFF COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY, AHMEDABAD,

VIGNETTING DALIT HEROISM THROUGH A BIOPIC; MANJHI - THE MOUNTAIN MAN

Sameer N. Solanki

Abstract Since the beginning, Indian Cinema has been adopting subject matters and themes from Indian myth (Raja Harishchandra), history (Mughal-E-Azam) and social issues (Achoot Kanya). As India has been certainly known as the agriculture country, in most of the early movie we can find a farmer as the leading character. Films like Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007), Aarakshan (Reservation-2011) and Shudra – The Rising?”(2012) and Manjhi - The Mountain Man (2015) etc all had set in rural background. The Hero of most of above given movies is a plain, candid, tries for healthier existing but could not defend against the cruel realities of upper caste society and returns to the rural community and rebelled in opposition to the structure to set up new societal norms. The caste system which lies in the India is an arrangement of stratifying society and suppression and oppression of such communities by the upper class people. This research paper is aiming to comprehend the depiction and representation of Dalit Heroism in cinema, a well overpowered and vanquishing intermediate in Indian and other Asian continent. Key words: Vignette, Caste, Cinema, Society, Intermediate.

Introduction A “biopic” is a biographical representation of a person (a film based on the events of someone’s life) or in other words it’s a life story of a real life character in form of celluloid print filmed by film director. Majority of expert of this genre believe that it is fundamentally a historical and real life drama with stress on actual persons or actions. As per the study there are nine types[Life Story Biopic (True Biopic), Career/Event Biopic, Generational Biopic, Semi-Biopic (Semi-Biographical Film), Documentary Biopic (Docu-Drama), Fictional Biopic (Fact-Based Fiction), Mythic Biopic, Alternate History/Hypothetical Biopic and

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 45 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54

Namesake Biopic] of biopic which have adopted by many of the film producers and directors for making their films. More or less, one can describe biopic as truly a work of fiction where some needed permission and agreement are very necessary. As it depicts events of one real life character, directors must finish some of the legal procedure well before making a film on that person. As we all know that factual living is often chaotic and full of dramatic ups and downs, where the entry and exit of people and character in past and present events are without any prior justification or word of warning. Most of the time Real life stays unethical, where male protagonist from time to time undergo an event of pain and grief as well as sensed antagonist often flourish and conquest, never having to suffer bodily or even mentally. Most of the time, every genre of biopic begins with a real life incidents of a person and ends with a decent note. It always canonizes and sometimes articulates the humans as devilish to create generate resistance among the forces of ethical and immoral; and conclusion is often shaped when the hero achieves victory over his rival or situation, at least metaphorically or emotionally. In this way such movies provide the objective and milestone to one’s life as well as meaning and purpose to live our lives in broad sense. Indian film fraternity has always remained a key source of fun, entertainment and enjoyment. With this it has been served the purpose of idea sharing and social reformer among different levels of classes. Moreover, it has done some remarkable changes in Indian society with its direct impact (in both way-Audio/Visuals) on Indian Mass. Since long we have been witnessed different genre ad types of Hindi movies. Sometimes it has entertained us with the touch of Hollywood movies as well as movies of others regional languages. Now- a-days one genre of movies which has proclaimed a sere amount of success is BIOPIC. In full term it’s a biographical movie based on the life and events of any great contributor or famous personality. There was a time when virtual animated movies had covered the most of the part of movie genre but since then contemporary biopic cinema has experienced a heap of changes. But occasionally it’s hard to unite the both of the types of biopic-the old and the new. It has been said and true to some extent that movies based on History, Autobiographies, and documentaries are generally not easy films to make. There are some group of audience which are in favour and appreciate such movies while rest are chiefly interested in commercial movies. Thus the number of such audience has been increasing day by day in large amount. With the movies like Gandhi, My Father (2007), Sardar (1993), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar(2000), Loknayak(2004), Rang Rasiya(2008), The Legend of Bhagat Singh(2002),

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 46 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero(2004), Mangal Pandey: The Rising(2005), Bajirao (2015) and (2008) the film director tried to depict and share the rich background of Indian history, Art and Politics. On the other hand films such as Mary Kom(2014), (2013) and Hawaizaada(2015) highlights some of the great achievement done by the Indians in sports and scientific discoveries. There are some biopic which have been made on certain controversies and social issues and the Indian film directors are brave enough to have such story as a plot for their films like Paan Singh Tomar(2010), Godmother(1999), Main Aur Charles(2015) and Bandit Queen(1994).

The Rise of Dalit Heroism in Indian Movie Along with all others genre of movies, biopic stands out to be one of the fast growing and popular type in Bollywood, the genre which is rapidly achieving recognition. In contemporary times, this genre of Movie has started a trend of weaving the life story of several eminent and iconic figures. Due to such efforts, now Indian public get to know about such tremendous person through the films like PAAN SINGH TOMAR, , RANG RASIYA, BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG and MARY KOM. These are the certain films which open up the real life stories to Bollywood audiences. One more feather adding into this genre, MANJHI - THE MOUNTAIN MAN, is a biopic of the late Dashrath Maanjhi, who is popularly known as the 'Mountain Man'. This is something new in the field of Dalit movie as well as characterisation of Dalit where the audience will find a Dalit character as a heroic leader or reformer. Since long, it has been remaining a trend both in Movie and Novels to depict Dalit as oppressed, suppressed, marginalised, downtrodden, outcast, poor and weak. As India, a nation progressing towards Digital India and Start up India this trend has been transformed largely in many ways and terms. If we see some of the old Dalit movies we will definitely have scenes describing their helplessness and their manipulations done by upper caste people. But in the latest movies the characters like Ajay Devghan as Sooraj Kumar in Rajniti(2010), Aditya Lakhia as Kachara in (2001), Sanjay Dutt as Pannalal Chohar in Eklavya(2007), as Deepak Kumar in Aarakshan(2011).

The man who moved a mountain– Dashrath Manjhi As per the latest analysis and data, in India over 120 crores of people live in either in rural India or in urban slums. Every day we read news regarding the struggling face by this

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 47 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 fellow Indians who are continuously in search of a life of dignity. We have reached the Moon, discovered the Marsh and also planning to excavate whole space but still we cannot deny the social evil which is still prevailing in our society. One of this is caste/gender bias. And out of these very few has tried something extraordinary to prove that belonging to low caste is not a curse but with effort a Dalit can leave his mark to this world. Some start this reformation and ends with disappointment but the man like Dashrath Manjhi, who not only think to do something but also decide to help those people who are not being helped by those who are in power. This is the story of a Man, who wanted to do it by himself, an icon who moved a mountain so his fellow villagers could get the most needed civilised facilities like water, school, doctor and etc. The movie begins with a monologue of Dashrath Manjhi () with a gigantic mountain, in which he condemns it for a reason and aggressively cursing it. The next scene in the movie leads the audience in to the flashback of the life of Dahsrath Manjhi and presents every event that leads him to the present day situation. The cause of his cursing the mountain is related to his personal grief. The flashback takes the audience into the life of a young Dashrath, who belongs to a community of down and out, and due to one of the social issue like child marriage, got married to Phaguniya (Radhika Apte) at a very early age. His childhood is also a typical example of violation of Dalit people by the upper caste. His father was under the burden of a huge debt and there is no hope for him to pay it back. Thus he decides to leave Dashrath as a domestic child servant to the village's merciless Mukhiya (). But the brave Dashrath bites off his father's hand and escapes and saves him from the eternal slavery. He comes back after a long gap of seven years. The day when he left the village and the day he returns are as similar as it was. The village hasn’t seen any reformation in its condition in terms of progress. Still in such difficulty situation he happens to see a girl whose glimpse makes him feeling loved and when he comes to know that this girls is no one but Phaguniya, his child wife, he feels out of this world. But as the love story never has a smooth going, parents of both of them denies their relationship and as a result of it, both of them flee away from the 'clutches' of their parents, simply to live a calm life forever. It is his love for Phaguniya which makes him realise that he cannot live without her. Again, Phaguniya conceives after the birth of her first child. One can never imagine a struggle of Dalit where he does so much of hard work to give a worth living life to his family. While he is working at a farm on the other side of a huge mountain, Phaguniya being a good wife brings lunch every day by crossing that mountain on foot. One can easily understand the

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 48 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 risk which she is taking every day by climbing the mountain by foot in such critical condition of her pregnancy. One day as it happens with a poor person, Phaguniya in trying to climb up the hill, loses her balance and expires after giving birth to her second child. A tremendous jolt of Phaguniya’s death makes him lunatic and feels that the hilly 'egoistic' mountains are the killers. And to teach a lesson to this hill he decides to start an impossible task and that is to cut the mountain merely by his hands and some tiny tools. And from here starts the saga of an iconic personality who has taken an impossible mission to slice the hill and make a road for his fellow villagers.

A catastrophe changed his existence: With the movie MANJHI - THE MOUNTAIN MAN two great film industry persons Ketan Mehta (a Director) and Mahendra Jhakar(a Writer) got a comeback into the Indian Film fraternity. The way he has made a film by knitting the characters of a real life so wonderfully that the movie becomes a jewel for the audience. He really claims an appreciation and applauds for vignetting the story of a real life hero into a cinema with supreme effortlessness and confidence. The unforgettable performance of the movie characters and the screenplay makes the movie a worth watching and the best amongst other docudrama category movies. Both Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte have done a great job by performing the roles of Dashrath and Phaguniya respectively. The saga of heroism of Dashrath starts right after the death of his beloved wife Phaguniya. No one can feel and understand the pain of a husband who has lost the love of life and a life partner. This grief of Dashrath has been presented and played in a very attractive way by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. As for the performances, he comes out to be a clean champion in the leading role of Dashrath Maanjhi. Indeed to play the role of a real life hero is always been a challenge to film celebrity as they are coming from the different background and society which impacts their acting and realisation. But in the case of Dashrath and Nawazuddin it was not the constraint as both are coming from almost similar kind of background. For the rigid and orthodox society of village it is an unrealistic thing where a Dalit decides to cut a mountain which has never been done by even any upper caste people. So for them it is just a lunatic act done by dirty and poor fellow who has become mad after the death of his wife. Many a times in the movie one can see how heroic person he is where at once he and Radhika Apte come out of the dirty and murky mud, making himself toeless after get bitten by a snake, feeding himself by licking the moss and eating plants. In the scene

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 49 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 where Dashrath is bitten by a vicious snake while carving the hill in the open is the best illustration of how an iconic person can tolerate any of the pain when he is truly devoted to a task. He lurches, cries out in pain and soon cuts out the thumb that was bitten. This act also resembles to 127 Hours (2010) a biographical survival drama film directed, co-written, and produced by Danny Boyle in which the hero cut down his arm to save his life. With the portrayal of Dashrath, one can actually feel the pain he must face at the moment and his willpower to live on. This is undoubtedly the kind of performance where you can say that Dashrath Manjhi deserves all applaud and appreciation out there. Not only Dashrath, his wife Phaguniya played by Radhika Apte, also done some majestic work by offering her moral and strong support to his husband Dashrath played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui as his ever-dutiful, faithful, affectionate, kind, sympathetic and inspirational wife. Being Dalit women the bravery and chivalry which she shows in the movie is something fantastic. Every day she climbs over the mountain just to deliver a meal to her husband who has been working since long in the morning. The onscreen chemistry that Radhika Apte exudes with Nawazuddin Siddiqui is something that needs to be seen in order to be believed.

1960; A saga of vengeance begins:

At total, MANJHI - THE MOUNTAIN MAN is a good film but will appeal mainly to all the victims of caste based social system. It has been turned out to be the most heroic move to this contemporary yet conventional Indian society, when Dalits are concerned. Mistreatment at a diverse levels and dimension is the key concern in this film. The protagonist of the movie serves the purpose of an unsung hero who has done something extraordinary which no one has even imagined before. Dashrath, who is a down and out, belongs to the lowest of the low caste, proves that the person’s inner strength and everlasting vitality can make him triumph over any impossible task. Dashrath, who is living a life as a mere poor villager, becomes the messiah of the ordinary group of people and make them proud. This movie has beautifully described the voyage of Dalit’s image transformation from survival to battle. The age old social issue of Caste and Class difference plays a key role here. As per the analysis Dalit people are the most underprivileged that suffers social subjugation, sexual harassment, financial abuse and cultural disintegration. On the other hand females of this community are the most terrible victims. The huge crime of them is this that they have

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 50 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 taken a birth in caste and in addition the God has made them woman which is even the biggest pity for them. They have oppressed and marginalised at various levels, primarily for being women, secondarily for belonging to Dalit community and third by the women of the high class. Thus to some extent, this movie has depicted the injustice which has done to this kind people. In the very beginning of the movie we come to notice an act where a communal subjugation on a man from the downtrodden community has been depicted who had dare wear footwear which is prohibited for them. Such act by Dashrath makes The Mukhiya angry and in his anger he punished him by nailing an iron horseshoe on his toe. He says, “juta pehan ke laat-sahib banega? (you want to wear shoes and feel like a lord?)”, “isko aysa juta pehnao ke jindagi bhar jute ki jaruat na pade (make him wear such shoes that he doesn’t need them over again)”. Such incidents prove the bravery of the manjhi and finally it brings out totally with the death of his wife and with the decision to cut the mountain. He sold the only source of him to live life ‘his goat’ to buy a chisel and a hammer. On the very first day when he started cutting the mountain with the mere chisel and a hammer he got tired within a moment. But whenever he get stopped by such tiredness he think of Phaguniya and her pain when she slipped and got die. These reminiscences boost his inner strength and make him remember then promise which he has done to him to cut the mountain. Dashrath Manjhi, the central character of the movie Manjhi – the Mountain Man represents the complete Dalit downtrodden. He belongs to the community of Moosahar which means the Rat Eaters - lowest of the low caste in his region. The village Gehlore is an obvious example of all those underprivileged rural villages that still exist in India. Due to one natural obstacle in the form of a huge mountain they are not getting even the most fundamental facilities like school and hospital. In this movie, Mountain serves the purpose of Antagonist which is the biggest hindrance in progress of poor villagers. During his act of cutting the mountain Dashrath constantly keep on talking with the hill which fills the audience’s heart with sympathy. In this movie the director has wonderfully used the metaphor of the Humangus Mountain which symbolizes the unemotional authority holders in the society for whom these poor people are nothing but the demons and devils. In other word we can say that the huge hill serves the purpose of a creator for whom every human being is so weak. The one side fight amid the weak (Dashrath Manjhi) and the dominant (Mountain) represents the inner struggle every Dalit endure. In the very beginning of the movie makes it very clear that their modesty has given birth to struggle. Sometimes being over good and humble brings you over hatred and agony. Manjhi, infuriated by the enormous mountain

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 51 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 which snatched away the life of his beloved Phaguniya, says,“bahut bada hai tu?” (You think you are too huge?), “bahut akad hai tora me?” (You are too arrogant?), “bahut jor hai?” (Too powerful?), “arey bharam hai, bharam” (it’s all illusion). This penetrating of the weak to the dominant is a dynamic effort done by the Indian Hindi Cinema. “Tune humri jindagi ko kharab kiya hai, hum torako cheer ke rakh denge (You bust my entire life, I will split you)”, this insubordinate declaration by Dashrath to the Mountain makes it obvious that the passive lot has risen up to battle against the domination. Again the scene of teenager Dashrath rupturing away from the grips of the Mukhiya to evade the eternal slavery is a move for revolt taken up by the Indian film directors. The Hindi film director has become successful in making a rural typical village which is the representative of all those villages that are suffering from such dictatorship of these mukhiyas. Through the life and character of Dashrath, Ketan Mehta has tried to portray the voyage of modest Dalits from the patience to boldness. The scene where one of the character Bhura, a pal of Manjhi all of sudden fall in the flames while labouring in the brick house, the arrogant son of the Mukhiya did not let them to save him because it will damage the newly made bricks which may cause them a great loss of money which far valuable than the life of Bhura. Someone had truly said that “if you have the will, you can move the hill.” The Bihar son, Dashrath Manjhi makes this proverb a reality when he did the impossible and actually carved a road through a mountain with just a hammer and a chisel after sacrificing 22 years for this iconic task. Thus at the end of the movie the people who saw Dashrath Manjhi as a poor and powerless person in beginning start admiring him as the iconic personality from Gehlaur village in Bihar's Gaya district at the end of the film. The spirit and talent of both the leading actor and actress proves that this is a story of real hero. Both Nawazuddin and Radhika are sparkling in Ketan Mehta's Manjhi - The Mountain Man. So we can conclude that this story which started with a revenge and anguish of Dashrath finally ends with a most extraordinary example of resolution of Dashrath of carving an accessible path for the villagers. Not only this, Manjhi - The Mountain Man can be consider as turbulent voyage of the hero as he finds difficulty in making the pathway and has to go in oppose to many of his friends, relations and bureaucrats. We can deny the crucial and impressive contribution of Nawazuddin which he made to this movie by his uncommon acting. According to him this was the most difficult role to play for him in his career. At every stage in the movie we experience the heroic did of Dashrath whether it is like revolting against the zamindar or struggling for long span

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 52 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54 admiring his beloved wife. One of the most remarkable scenes is the one where Dashrath is under arrest and told that he might perish in prison for his entire life. As he self confronts, "Hum haar gaye Phaguniya, lagta hai bina rasta banae hi mar jayenge, (we lost Phaguniya, might be possible I will die without making the path.)" the powerlessness in his eyes shatters audience’s heart. The childhood married couple, Dashrath and Phaguniya barely spent four-five years as one before she dies. The bonding that the couple develops through that little phase can be obviously seen as the cause behind the 22-year-long effort Dashrath undertakes to make sure that no one else dies the way his spouse did. Ketan Mehta has personified and presented the love story and the heroism of a lower caste at the same time perfectly. Whenever in the movie, Dashrath is about to become impatience, Phguniya's spirit appears and reminds him why he needs to do it, boosting him up all over again. And, when the villagers are rejoicing after he has slice away the mountain, Dashrath again sees Phaguniya dancing out of happiness and joy with others in multi-coloured clothes.

Conclusion Ketan Mehta’s Manjhi-the mountain man stands out to be the best example of the socio- political milieu of Dashrath Manjhi's being represented through a movie. We cannot deny his expertise in highlighting the politics of caste and class. As we all know that Dashrath was born a Musahar (the community of bonded farm labourers once known for hunting and feeding rats or moos) which has made his destiny to be a lifelong slave. . They are one of the most marginalised groups in India and have suffered all kinds of discrimination at the hands of the upper caste including untouchability. Still his willpower makes him one of the most admirable and well known personalities among other fellow villagers. In movie at the time of emergency Dashrath faces a lot of hurdles in completing his tasking of carving the mountain as other ruling people use to tell him that he has chosen a wrong time to do this task as it may look like a revolt against corrupt bureaucrats and may result into an arrest and jail for him. But still instead of losing his will he continues to cut it without any second thought. One of the very serious issues which India is facing - Maoist Violence, has been also wonderfully presented in this movie. Though Dashrath is so much fed up of upper and lower caste bias, he still give a good advice of surrendering to one his friend turns a rebel. Dashrath is seen disagreeing with the friend-turned-Maoist and conveying that weapons are not the only way to revolt. The theme which runs throughout the film is love, enthusiasm and the vigour of a

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 53 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54

man's determination altogether. From combating dishonest politicians to over-indulging villagers and annoying family members, Dashrath overcomes all issues to make certain that he completes the mission he took upon himself, one that will serve the mankind and just not a selfish sentiment. The powerful love story, the inspirational plot and realistic hard-hitting acting, Dashrath Manjhi's empowering willpower and sheer realism portrayed by Ketan Mehta altogether make this movie a worth watching.

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 54 Towards Excellence: An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education / Mr. Sameer Solanki/ Page 45-54

Works Cited

Gupta, Shubhra. "Manjhi – The Mountain Man’ Review: Any Film Helmed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui Is Worthy of Being Watched." . N.p., 23 Aug. 2015. Web. 26 June 2016. Jhunjhunwala, Udita. "Film Review: ‘Manjhi The Mountain Man’ Is a Powerful Tale of Human Will." Scroll.in. N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 18 June 2016. Kausal, Sweta. "Manjhi The Mountain Man Review: An Inspiring, Touching Tale of a Common Man." Hindustantimes. N.p., 7 Oct. 2015. Web. 7 July 2016. Khan, Saif Ahmad. "How Manjhi - The Mountain Man Gave Congress the Hand It Doesn't Deserve." Daily O. Http://www.dailyo.in/arts/mountain-man-dashrath-manjhi- nawazuddin-siddiqui-ketan-mehta-radhika-apte/story/1/5934.html, 28 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 June 2016. Kumar, Anuj. "Manjhi: Knocking the Cynicism off." . N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 6 July 2016. Manjhi - The Mountain Man. Dir. Ketan Mehta. Perf. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. Maya Movies, 2015. DVD. Pal, Deepanjana. "Manjhi Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui Is Genius, but Watching This Film Is an Uphill Task." F.ENTERTAINMENT. N.p., 22 Aug. 2015. Web. 6 July 2016.

Sameer N. Solanki Sardar Institute of Technology, Vasad, Gujarat, India Email ID: [email protected]

July, 2016. VOL.8. ISSUE NO. 2 www.ascgujarat.org Page | 55